Cole Palmer has revealed he was advised not to join Chelsea before his £45m move from Premier League champions Manchester City.
The 22-year-old spent over a decade at Man City after joining the club’s academy at the age of eight but only made 41 appearances for the first-team before being sold to Chelsea.
Palmer was one of a number of new faces to arrive at Stamford Bridge but, unlike several of his team-mates, has enjoyed a dream start to his Chelsea career, scoring 25 goals in his first season at the club.
That form led ex-England boss Gareth Southgate to select Palmer in his squad for Euro 2024 and the Chelsea star impressed in his brief appearances out in Germany, including scoring in the final before Spain went on to lift the trophy.
Palmer’s remarkable form shows no sign of slowing down – he became the first player in Premier League history to score four first-half goals last month and has already notched up five assists this season.
Chelsea rewarded Palmer for his superb form with a new contract that will hypothetically keep him at Stamford Bridge until the summer of 2033.
If that materialises Palmer will likely establish himself as one of the club’s greatest ever players – but things could have turned out very differently had he listened to voices urging him not to join Chelsea.
Reflecting on his decision to join the Blues, Palmer told ITV Football: ‘How do I look back on leaving Man City?
‘Yeah, it was a gamble because I didn’t know what I was going into, I didn’t know the club I was going into.
‘I had people telling me, don’t go here, don’t go there. But I just decided what I wanted to do myself and did it.
‘To move clubs, it changed my life. In many different ways, leaving Manchester where I grew up, getting away from people I didn’t need to be around. And the football as well obviously.’
Despite his stunning rise for club and country, it was a surprise to see Palmer named England men’s player of the year last week.
Last month, Manchester United and England legend Gary Neville said he had been ‘completely shocked’ by Palmer’s transformation at Stamford Bridge.
Asked if he rates Palmer as the best player in the Premier League, Neville told NBC Sports: ‘He’s not far off! I have to say that I was surprised last season.
‘I remember when Mohamed Salah scored those goals all those years ago and I thought, “He won’t repeat that in the second season, he won’t repeat that in the third season”, and Cole Palmer is just going and completely shocking me in terms of what he’s delivering.
