Manchester City offloaded several players last summer following the Treble win – and there is one who continues to go from strength to strength away from the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola‘s side enjoyed an incredible season, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.
But despite such a remarkable campaign, there was still a desire for some to move on to pastures new.
Ilkay Gundogan, Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte all departed, with the former leaving when his contract expired. Mahrez and Laporte were both purchased by Saudi clubs.
But there was one of other big departure at City – and the player in question is enjoying an absolute stellar season.
Cole Palmer left City on deadline day to join Chelsea, and last night, he enjoyed his finest hour so far since leaving the Etihad…
Aymeric Laporte reacts as Cole Palmer puts on four-goal masterclass for Chelsea against Everton
Palmer’s sale last summer was regarded as a good one by the club.
Ultimately, the youngster had only been a bit-part player at the Etihad. Although he had been showing very good signs, he was still inexperienced and had lots of competition in his position.
In the end, Chelsea came calling for Palmer, who was happy to make the move to get more game time.
Pep Guardiola has said that he did offer the player more game time after Mahrez was sold. But Palmer had made up his mind, and a £42.5 million deal was done.
And Palmer could not have wished for a better start on a personal level at Stamford Bridge.
While Chelsea have struggled as a collective, he has been on fire.
Last night, he scored four goals against Everton, taking his Premier League tally up to 20 for the season. He is now joint-top of the goalscoring chart alongside City’s Erling Haaland.
One man who caught last night’s game was former City defender Aymeric Laporte, who took to X to react. He wrote simply: “Wow kid 🥶🥶”
One account asked Laporte if he was impressed, to which he then replied: “I didn’t wait until today, talented kid 👍🏻👍🏻”
What a player – but Man City still right to sell
Palmer is an absolutely sensational talent, and City fans should take pride in seeing him flourishing the way he is right now.
He is Chelsea’s main man, and it’s amazing to see him putting up the number he is in his first season with the Blues.
Few could have imagined he would do so well. There has inevitably been some talk about City making a mistake by selling Palmer last summer.
But realistically, the 21-year-old would not have had this same season had he stayed put. He might have seen more opportunities at the Etihad, but there is no way he would have carried City like he is doing with Chelsea.
The £42.5 million deal was a move that suited all parties, with City not missing him and Palmer absolutely thriving.