Chelsea are not done in the transfer market, as they look set to confirm the signing of Cole Palmer from Manchester City. The 21-year-old winger is set to become the latest player to move to the blue side of London as Chelsea look to sign an entire army of players this summer transfer window.
Palmer has spent his entire career thus far at City, but will now call time on his spell with the club to move to Chelsea. The deal, which could rise to nearly £50, is another significant transfer fee paid out by Chelsea this summer with their spending going well over £700m.
Chelsea have reached an agreement with Manchester City and are close to signing Cole Palmer.
— Tom Roddy (@TomRoddy_) August 30, 2023
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Cole Palmer transfer – Full details
Having played 40 times already for Manchester City, Cole Palmer is experienced for his age. While he won't follow in the footsteps of players like Phil Foden in breaking into the Man City first team, he will now get a chance to play at another elite club. Though, given the size of the Chelsea squad, we're not entirely sure how soon that will be.
Palmer is a left-footed winger, who is surprisingly tall, given the position he plays. He was a key part of the England U21 Euros victory this summer, scoring once and assisting 3 times. Given Pochettino's tendency to like developing young talent, Palmer will certainly fit the bill. Poch had been trying to add another attacking player before the end of the window, and Palmer was a top target. While Chelsea have a lot of options, the recent injury to Christopher Nkunku probably forced his hand.
Other options had included Emile Smith Rowe, Bradley Barcola, and Brennan Johnson. Having lost out of Michael Olise from Palace, who was thought to be the main target, Poch was keen to sign a versatile attacking player.
How much will Cole Palmer cost Chelsea ?
Earlier today, Chelsea had a £35m bid rejected by Man City. Chelsea quickly came back, however, and the £40m + £5m in add-ons deal has now been accepted. Man City had wanted £50m, but it seems a compromise was reached between the two clubs.
For City, it's a pretty good deal, however you look at it. An academy graduate who's cost them only wages is being sold for £45m in pure profit to a rival club. With just a few days left of the transfer window, Chelsea were clearly keen to not have this transfer drag on, and will likely be pleased they've got their man. But is it the end of Chelsea's signings this window?
What does Cole Palmer bring to Chelsea?
Cole Palmer burst onto the scene at City as a result of the squad rotation after the World Cup in Qatar. With so many players needing extra time away, or coming back late, Palmer was in a prime position to take his chance. In his first season in the first team, despite an injury cutting his season short; Palmer scored in the Champions League, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup. Not bad for a player in their first season.
Palmer is a left-footed winger who likes to operate on the right side of the wing. Cutting inside score. At Man City, he would most likely be compared to Riyad Mahrez.
At six feet tall, Palmer isn't physically like most wide players in the league. It also makes him very different to the type of wingers that have thrived under Pep. Palmer does, however, possess great dribbling and ball retention. Along with his speed and agility, it makes him ideal for cutting inside and punishing defenders. Amusingly, he's very similar to current Chelsea man Raheem Sterling, just a lot taller.
With how Poch is looking to play at Chelsea, it's unlikely that Palmer will need to do much adjusting to fit in at his new team. With his inverted winger style of play, he'll bring an overload in midfield for Chelsea, something Pep has abused to great effect at City.
Whatever happens, Palmer is a young man, and has plenty of chances to push on at Chelsea. The key will be, how much game time he's able to get, as it's unlikely Chelsea look to loan out a player they've just spent nearly £50m on.
