Pep Guardiola did not see Cole Palmer as part of his first-team plans.
That is the view of former Aston Villa and Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore, who believes there are ‘no guarantees’ Palmer, 21, will develop into a top player.
Despite scoring crucial goals in both the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup, Palmer was recently offloaded to Chelsea in a deal worth £42.5 million (BBC Sport).
And while many Blues fans will be celebrating their team’s capture of the highly-rated 21-year-old, Collymore doesn’t think Guardiola will regret his decision to let the attacking midfielder leave.
“There is a reason Pep Guardiola has let him leave and join a domestic rival – arguably one of their biggest too,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview.
“Palmer obviously wasn’t in his manager’s plans as much as we thought he was. Chelsea have taken a huge punt on him in the hope he goes on to emulate the career Phil Foden has had, but again, there are no guarantees, and Guardiola is obviously confident the lad won’t be as good as the rest of his City squad.
“Only time will tell which club benefits the most from the deal, but Guardiola will be confident he’s made the right decision.”
Manchester City’s former number 80 became Mauricio Pochettino’s 11th summer signing and the club’s fourth most expensive.
During his days at the Etihad, Palmer, who signed a seven-year contract at Chelsea on deadline day, directly contributed to eight goals in 41 games in all competitions.