The 2023/24 season was an amazing one for Phil Foden at Manchester City, as it was for Cole Palmer after he left the Etihad Stadium last summer.
Foden finished as the FWA Footballer of the Year and Premier League Player of the Year, after an outstanding campaign where he was front and centre of City’s surge to a fourth straight league title.
Foden thrived in a central role, and really stepped up in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne. But he then continued to shine once the Belgian was back.
2023/24 was the season one academy graduate truly came of age at City. But one also came of age away from the club.
Cole Palmer was sold to Chelsea for £42.5 million last summer, and had a truly remarkable season just like Foden.
Now, Foden has given his reaction to seeing his former teammate shine at Stamford Bridge…
Phil Foden hails Cole Palmer and admits the star expressed his frustrations to him about game time
Palmer made 45 appearances for Chelsea in his first season, scoring an amazing 25 goals and providing 15 assists.
That output came as a surprise to a lot of fans considering it was his first season as a regular, and especially given the struggles Chelsea have had in recent times.
He was by far and away their best player, and he was deservedly named the Young Premier League Player of the Season for his exploits.
Palmer’s explosion at Chelsea has come as no surprise to Foden, who obviously trained with him day in, day out at City and knows his quality.
The 24-year-old is delighted for his former teammate. He also claimed that Palmer actually expressed his frustrations a few times to him about his lack of game time before leaving.
He told the Daily Mail: “With Cole, it’s effortless. Slows play down, shifts to the side, chops with fake shots. I always saw in Cole that he would score a lot of goals. You can see the instinct straight away in a player. He was one of the best in the five-a-sides (at City).
“I always knew he would have a brilliant career. You can see it straight away when you’ve got a top player. We both won the awards as well and it’s mad how far we’ve come: to be two top players in the Premier League this season is really a surreal moment.”
“There were times I was in his shoes, where I wasn’t playing and would just come on for the odd few minutes. I knew he believed in himself. He was frustrated, he spoke to me a few times saying he wanted to play more football, and he decided to leave. I’m happy for him that it’s worked.”
Palmer’s decision worked out for all parties
It has been great to see Palmer thrive in his first season at Chelsea and many City fans are delighted for him.
It must have been tricky for him to sit on the City bench week in, week out, knowing that he had the potential to shine. Despite Pep Guardiola telling him he would be set for more game time in 2023/24, he made the bold decision to push for the exit – and his decision has been fully vindicated.
He’s shone, and City got a very good fee at the time. Obviously, he is now worth far more than £42.5 million. But considering his level of experience, it was a good sale by City, who haven’t really missed him despite how good he’s been at Chelsea.
Hopefully, he can continue his brilliant form with England at Euro 2024 this summer – it would be brilliant to see both him and Foden at the heart of everything for the Three Lions.