Pep Guardiola says Cole Palmer spurned his offer of more playing time at Manchester City to sign for Chelsea last summer.
Whatever the nuances, there will be motivation on both sides at Sunday’s Stamford Bridge reunion between the world’s greatest manager and the 21-year-old talent who defied him.
Palmer had started only three Premier League games when he left the club he joined aged six. In contrast, he has begun the last five for Mauricio Pochettino — scoring three goals — and is a decent outside bet to make England’s squad for the Euros.
‘I’m not surprised he’s done well quickly at Chelsea,’ says former City academy director Jason Wilcox, now director of football at Southampton.
‘He’s a quiet, languid guy and people can misinterpret that. With a footballing eye, you could always see elite vision, technical ability and winning mentality.
Pep Guardiola has revealed Cole Palmer rejected his offer of more playing time to join Chelsea
Palmer has shone since joining the Blues last summer with three goals in five starts
‘He had to overcome challenges at City. There was a point his team-mates were growing quicker than him and he found it difficult physically.
‘We kept him with the Under-18s when his peers went up to the U21s. That wasn’t easy for Cole but he took it in his stride and adapted.
‘On the pitch, he has tremendous courage. He takes the ball and tries things. He responds well to pressure and doesn’t get affected by the crowd.
‘It’ll be fascinating to see him face City. All top players want to prove something, both to themselves — and previous clubs.’
Palmer, who joined Chelsea in a £42.5million deal, is a versatile forward suited to the modern game, able to fit in anywhere along the front line or drop as a No10. Guardiola saw him as most useful on the right of a front three.
The City manager’s version of their break-up is typically forthright. ‘I said to him “Riyad Mahrez is leaving, you are going to get a chance here”. ‘He said “No, I’m not going to play here, I want to leave” so I said “OK, leave!”
Some clubs would not want to see an asset join a potential rival. City are not like that and were happy to collect a big fee from Chelsea.
‘We’d never stop a deal because of that. Why, if the transfer suits both clubs and the player? That means you are a small club.
Former boss Guardiola saw Palmer’s best role out on the right of a front-three attacking unit
‘Big clubs make decisions for the benefit of all three parties. If a player wants to go to Chelsea or [Manchester] United or Liverpool, what is the problem if they are happy to be there and we are happy with the transfer? Another player comes here and we keep going with a good spirit.’
City have not regretted Palmer’s departure yet though that could change if he runs the show this afternoon as he did in Monday’s 4-1 win at Tottenham.
Chelsea have won three, drawn one and lost one since Pochettino turned to him at a time of crisis.
England manager Gareth Southgate confirmed he is keeping tabs on Palmer though he did not make the cut for the squad which he named on Thursday.
Palmer has started each of Mauricio Pochettino’s side’s last five matches and scored three
England manager Gareth Southgate confirmed he is keeping tabs on Palmer ahead of Euros
‘He’s still a young player. He’s on a very good trajectory,’ says the England boss. ‘He’s adapting to regular first-team football and the tactical elements of that. But we know he’s an excellent finisher. In big moments, we know he has that inner belief.
‘We’re tracking him in the way that we’re tracking Anthony Gordon [Newcastle] and a couple of others in that area of the pitch.
‘We know at the moment Chelsea aren’t in those top four or five teams but it’s a big club with a lot of pressure and you’ve got to have certain psychological qualities to succeed. It’s a similar world to ours [England] really.’
With the TV cameras trained on him today, particularly to see if there is an embrace with Guardiola, this is Palmer’s biggest test. If he passes, he can start to be viewed as the real deal, rather than someone waiting to fill in for other players.
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