Chelsea spending £40m on Cole Palmer is the Blues’ most absurd signing yet- GOAL
ENGLAND, Sept. 1 – For some football fans, the off-season is the part of the calendar that they look forward to the most, as that can only mean one thing: It’s time for transfers! Over the past weeks and months, the biggest names have been linked with the biggest clubs, with speculation going into overdrive before massive deals are made and players officially make the move.
We all know that some transfers turn out well for all parties involved, but there are plenty where at least one of the clubs, or even the player, are left wondering what might have been had they made a different decision while at the negotiating table, GOAL learnt.
Cole Palmer (Manchester City to Chelsea,
For Manchester City: Plenty of people – including some working at the Premier League – have long wondered where Manchester City’s money has been coming from for the past decade and a half. But there’s no doubt that, these days at least, a significant chunk of their income is being generated by the sale of academy products. This summer alone, City have made £79m ($100m) alone on five players aged 20 or under: Palmer, Shea Charles, James Trafford, Adedire Mebude and Carlos Borges. City may have an endless supply of oil money, but they’ve also invested it wisely in youth and are now reaping ridiculous rewards. There really is no end in sight to their dominance of English football. Grade: A+
For Chelsea: Another startling illustration of the depth of their determination to sign as many potential stars as possible – regardless of the cost. In fact, this might just be the most absurd example yet. Palmer is clearly an exciting prospect – he proved that in the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup. But he’s 21 years of age and has made just three Premier League starts in his fledgling career. The fee, then, makes no sense – but Chelsea clearly have a plan for all these young players they’re stockpiling at Stamford Bridge and they’re sticking to it. The onus now is on Mauricio Pochettino to not only develop all these kids, but also keep them happy, which will be easier said than done. Grade: D
For Palmer: A strange move. Leaving treble-winning City was always going to represent a difficult step down for a Manchester lad, but one could understand the reasoning, given the intense competition for places at the Etihad. After all, it’s not as if Palmer’s hopes of regular game time this season were helped by the signing of Jeremy Doku. However, one would have expected such a highly-rated England Under-21 international to join a stable side where he is guaranteed first-team football. So, anyone but Chelsea, really! Still, everyone is in the same boat at Stamford Bridge right now, effectively starting from scratch under Pochettino, so Palmer clearly feels he can force his way into the Argentine’s XI. Grade C-.
