Man City fail with €150m move for De Bruyne successor

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 22 Oct 2024 08:59 BST
• 3 min read

Cole Palmer has rejected the chance to return to Manchester City for a club record transfer fee of €150 million.

In recent days it has been reported in Spain that City are prepared to pay a staggering €150m to bring Palmer back to the club.

The 22-year-old left Pep Guardiola’s side to join Chelsea for €47m last summer and he has established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League since his move to Stamford Bridge.

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City are reported to regret the decision to sell Palmer and wish to bring him back to the Etihad.

Spanish outlet Fichajes have reported that Man City are willing to pay as much as €150m to bring Palmer back to the club next year.

Palmer rejects Man City

But Football Insider reports that Palmer has made it clear that he has no interest in returning to City.

The attacking midfielder wants to repay the faith Chelsea had when signing him and is happy at Stamford Bridge.

Palmer has 31 goals and 20 assists in 55 Chelsea games, while he was named England Men’s Player of the Year for 2023-24 during the October international break.

He played just 41 times for City’s first-team during his time at the club, with only 13 of those appearances coming as starts.

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City have been keen to re-sign him as they see him as the ideal successor to Kevin de Bruyne.

The 33-year-old sees his contract at the Etihad expire at the end of the season and he is unlikely to pen a new deal.

He has been heavily linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League over the past few months.

What is for certain, though, is that Palmer will not be replacing him.