Pep Guardiola has shared his verdict on Cole Palmer ahead of Manchester City’s upcoming Premier League clash against Chelsea.
The Citizens sold the Englishman to Chelsea during the previous summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of over £42m.
Having scored a goal in the 4-4 draw between the two sides back in November, the winger will be making a return to the Etihad Stadium this weekend for the latest showdown.
Ahead of this big game, Guardiola has shared his thoughts on Palmer and his exit from City.
Guardiola drops Palmer verdict
Speaking in his latest press conference ahead of City’s match against Chelsea, Guardiola had this to say about Palmer and his move to the west London club when asked if he felt the winger was ready to step up at the start of the season.
He said: “If he could play regularly as has happened, yes. We didn’t have any doubts about his quality. The way he is playing, he’s already an exceptional player. He travelled to move on. He wanted the minutes, was a question of time to show his immense quality. He is a lovely lad and he helped us achieve what we achieved.”
At the start of the season, the 21-year-old scored in the Community Shield which City then went on to lose on penalties against Arsenal.
After that, the winger then scored in the UEFA SuperCup final against Sevilla which the Citizens won on penalties.
Since making his move to Stamford Bridge, Palmer has found the back of the net 12 times and provided nine assists in 28 appearances across all competitions.
This shows how much the Englishman has benefited from being able to play regularly from the start rather than off the bench every now and again.
With Guardiola saying he has no doubts about Palmer’s talent, his side will have to make sure they don’t allow the attacker to show that talent in tomorrow’s game.
