Manchester City sanctioned the departure of Cole Palmer last summer – and BBC pundit Garth Crooks believes it was a very smart move from the youngster.
City decided to cash in on their academy product when Chelsea came calling at the end of the window.
News broke of Chelsea’s interest in Palmer and he completed his £42.5 million switch on deadline day.
It was a move that raised eyebrows, and at the time it looked a very good sale by City and there was a suggestion Chelsea had overpaid for a player lacking Premier League experience.
But Palmer has absolutely flourished at Stamford Bridge, and has easily been their best player this season.
On Monday night against Newcastle United, Palmer scored another goal and made another assist – and Crooks has hailed his decision to leave City…
Garth Crooks says Cole Palmer made a ‘smart’ decision leaving Manchester City
So far this season, Palmer has made 33 appearances for Chelsea. He’s scored 13 goals and made 11 assists, making him one of the signings of the season.
Ultimately, Palmer – who Gary Neville recently said would have been a real asset for City this season – decided to leave to pursue regular game time.
Pep Guardiola previously said that he did offer Palmer more, but the attacker was keen for a new chapter, so therefore City did business with Chelsea.
Following his superb display against Newcastle, Garth Crooks selected Palmer in his latest Premier League Team of the Week.
In his analysis of Palmer, Crooks praised the player for leaving City, believing he made a wise move because of the competition he was facing at the Etihad.
He said: “This kid has been a revelation since his arrival at Stamford Bridge. It was clear that Manchester City weren’t prepared to give him the game time he thought he needed and how could they with Kevin De Bruyne, Silva, Rodri and Foden occupying the space with Jack Grealish getting the occasional game. The smart move was to leave and get the playing time his talent deserved elsewhere.
“Well he did just that and in his first season in top-flight football has scored 11 Premier League goals. It was Palmer’s strike that was cleverly diverted into the Newcastle goal by Nicolas Jackson but there was no mistake with his superb finish that put Chelsea 2-1 up against the visitors.
“Palmer is an exceptional talent and it will be interesting to see if Gareth Southgate – who was watching the youngster perform against the Magpies – selects him in the England squad for the forthcoming internationals. I think he’s earned it.”
Palmer’s decision to leave has been vindicated
Palmer had to leave City last summer.
Had he stayed, then it’s likely we would not be seeing the same Cole Palmer we are today. As Crooks says, there was just so much competition for places, and Pep would not have afforded him the same minutes as Mauricio Pochettino has.
Palmer may be playing in a struggling team right now. But he’s got what he really wanted which was regular game time.
In time, Chelsea will improve. They made the Carabao Cup final last month, and the potential is there for them. Especially now that they have Palmer.