Chelsea were actually left pleasantly surprised by Manchester City during negotiations to sign Cole Palmer.
Well – as you will know – Chelsea signed the England international on transfer deadline day in a £42.5m deal.
Pep Guardiola told Palmer that he would get chances at Manchester City following the departure of Riyad Mahrez, but the 21-year-old still decided to leave the Etihad Stadium.
Now, the Chelsea No.20 is flying, scoring four goals in his last five Premier League appearances, while also earning his first two England caps during the international break.
As a result, Palmer’s value has surely increased, although Manchester City won’t stand to benefit from that through any sell-on clause.
The Daily Mail believe Manchester City felt Chelsea were proposing a good deal by offering to pay £40m of the fee upfront and did not haggle over any sell-on clause, as was included in the sales of Jadon Sancho, Romeo Lavia and Pedro Porro.
That decision left Chelsea pleasantly surprised, with no buyback option negotiated by Manchester City either.
Some at Manchester City had high hopes for Cole Palmer before Chelsea move
While Palmer is surely satisfied with his decision to swap Manchester for London, some at the Etihad Stadium were not happy about it – specifically those in the City Football Academy.
The Manchester Evening News believe those within Manchester City’s youth setup had hoped to see the Wythenshawe-born attacker follow in Phil Foden’s footsteps by becoming a key man under Guardiola.
Unfortunately for them, Palmer saw his future differently, and to his credit, he has almost instantly become a talismanic figure at Stamford Bridge.
Hopefully, the likes of Oscar Bobb and Foden himself can help Manchester City fans forget about Palmer.