Cole Palmer has impressed at Stamford Bridge following his arrival from Manchester City, who Chelsea face on Sunday. Photo: Getty Images/Darren Walsh
When Chelsea's recruiters were planning their squad for the current season, there was one name mentioned that they feared Manchester City would simply refuse to do business with.
< p>Cole Palmer was Chelsea's latest summer signing. He arrived on the final day of the window, but it was during negotiations over Mateo Kovacic's move to City at the end of June that his name was first mentioned in conversations between the two clubs.
Kovacic's move in the opposite direction, which went through without any hiccups, is believed to have been the key to City allowing Palmer to move to a traditional rival and ultimately completing the deal without any last-minute price increases.
Chelsea knew they would have to wait for Palmer and became concerned he would not be allowed to leave City under any circumstances when the Premier League champions refused to consider a loan request from Brighton.
But the relationship between Chelsea's co-sport directors Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart and City's sporting director Txiki Begiristain, and Palmer's desire to guarantee more first-team football, changed the situation.
How it happened ? It became clear that City were going to sign Jeremy Doku, confidence at Stamford Bridge increased and Chelsea finally named a price for Palmer, who immediately made it clear that he was interested in the move.
Palmer arrived at Stamford Bridge on the final day of the summer transfer window. Photo: Getty Images/Harriet Lander
Although many of Chelsea's other signings were publicly announced in the months and weeks leading up to their move, the club managed to keep Palmer quiet. They were so determined not to let the news leak out and potentially jeopardize the deal that while final negotiations were underway, his name was not allowed to be spoken in public areas of the club's Cobham training ground. Staff outside the recruitment and management team were simply left out.
The deal was worth £42.5 million, more than Tottenham Hotspur paid for England international James Maddison , at the time seemed cool for Palmer, who was relatively unproven at the top level, but Chelsea never looked at it in isolation.
Fans have tried to compare Palmer to Mason Mount, but in reality he was always in line to replace Kai Havertz, despite the injury Christopher Nkunku suffered in pre-season.
Having sold the German to Arsenal for £65 million, Chelsea have calculated that signing his successor for more than £20 million represents excellent business — so good so far that Palmer is preparing to play for the first time against his boyhood club on Sunday. < /p>
Before talking about how well Palmer has settled into the pitch at his new club, it is perhaps more interesting to note the impression he has made on Chelsea insiders.
The 21-year-old, who was born in Wythenshawe, Manchester and never lived away from his parents before moving to London, is said to want to try to learn Spanish so he can communicate even better with some of his Chelsea members. teammates and staff.
Palmer strives to communicate with his Spanish-speaking colleagues in their native language. eip.telegraph.co.uk/879a709e-f63c-45aa-85e3-266e07c66f6b.html?direct=true&id=879a709e-f63c-45aa-85e3-266e07c66f6b&truncated=true&expandable=false» class=»tmg-particle Breakout-Box «wrp- 879a709e -f63c-45aa-85e3-266e07c66f6b» name=»Cole Palmer is a better fit for Chelsea than Manchester City, says Mauricio Pochettino» data-truncated=»true» data-business-type=»editorial» loading=» eager» scroll= «no» frameborder=»0″ style=»width: 100%; min-width: 100%; border: none; position: static; display: block; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;»>
Chelsea have a number of Spanish speakers in Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Thiago Silva, as well as head coach Mauricio Pochettino and his backroom staff, and Palmer wants to make an effort to understand them better rather than just relying on you are spoken to in English.
It is also suggested that he was interested in having a chef at his home to help him learn to cook and eat proper food, rather than relying on the club to solely provide his food or order takeout while he's alone.
Raheem Sterling took Palmer under his wing at City when Pep Guardiola promoted the striker to the senior team for the first time after he scored 15 goals and provided a further five assists in 14 Under-18 Premier League appearances.
< img src="/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/d66527383fb720c00241f24d20db3ecd.jpg" />Palmer surprised some during Chelsea's recent match with Arsenal when he insisted on taking a penalty — rather than allowing more for a senior player like Raheem Sterling to take charge. Photo: Getty Images/Michael Regan
Unsurprisingly, Sterling gave Palmer a glowing review when Chelsea's recruitment asked him for his opinion, and the 28-year-old helped him settle into London life and his new surroundings at Chelsea.
Sterling saw leadership in Palmer qualities that were already evident at Chelsea, where he took responsibility for penalties, scored all three, and was not shy about expressing his feelings openly to teammates, like Conor. Gallagher and Nicholas Jackson can attest to this.
That confidence, bordering on arrogance, was echoed by Pochettino, who would have loved the way Palmer calmed the Tottenham crowd in celebration after equalizing from the penalty spot. Monday evening.
Cole Palmer penalty 🎯
Palmer's third penalty of the season sends @ChelseaFC on their way to a dramatic win over Spurs …pic.twitter.com/bkIYZWvtvE< /p>— Premier League (@premierleague), November 7, 2023
Palmer was known to Pochettino, whose enthusiasm for the deal grew after he was given more details about his character and watched numerous clips of him.
Pat Nevin, the former Chelsea striker, had already compared Palmer with a young Kevin De Bruyne, and three goals and four assists certainly suggest that he is a player capable of influencing the game in the same way as the Belgian.
Palmer can play as a number 10, an advanced eight or even a false nine, but his ability to drift out on the right, where he has so far predominantly featured for Chelsea, has also drawn comparisons to another former City star, Riyad Mahrez. who could score and create goals in almost equal measure.
He had already played more minutes for Chelsea in the Premier League than in his entire City career and there would be no ill will from the former Guardiola and Palmer's club when the two sides meet on Sunday. City insiders still describe him as «a great guy and a talented player» who simply wanted the guarantee of more opportunities, and the club's fans should understand that too.
Doku's superior influence means it would be rude argue that City made a mistake by allowing Palmer to leave and they knew full well what a good player Chelsea had signed.
However, the early signs are that Chelsea have landed an even better player and a man in the person of Palmer. than they expected.
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