Chelsea star Palmer reveals key reason for Man City exit

Cameron Smith

• 9 Jan 2024 14:35 CST
• 3 min read

Chelsea and England star Cole Palmer has revealed why he left boyhood club Manchester City to move to Stamford Bridge this summer.

Palmer, 21, joined the Blues for €47 million during the most recent summer window and has immediately become a key member of Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

The Englishman has scored eight goals and provided seven assists in just 20 appearances for Chelsea, and has arguably been the west London club’s Player of the Season so far.

However, during an interview with Sky Sports, Palmer revealed that moving to Chelsea wasn’t something he planned.

Why did Cole Palmer leave Man City to join Chelsea?

The England international spoke to the broadcaster ahead of Chelsea’s Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg against Middlesbrough and admitted: “My thing was to never leave City.

“That was not my intention. I wanted to go on loan for a year, come back and be ready for the first team.

“But they said I couldn't go on loan, either stay or you get sold.

“So then, Chelsea rang me. I said I wanted to go to Chelsea and I'm really happy to be here. I'm very glad I made the decision to come here.”

Brighton & Hove Albion were linked with a loan move for Palmer before he joined Chelsea, but the Seagulls were unable to complete a deal and ended up landing Barcelona wonderkid Ansu Fati on a 12-month loan instead.

Although Palmer made 41 senior appearances for Man City (scoring six goals and providing two assists), he only started x Premier League games for his boyhood club amid competition from the likes of Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez.

Mahrez’s summer departure to the Saudi Pro League was seen as a positive for the Englishman, but Jeremy Doku soon arrived and Palmer played just 10 minutes of league action for City across the first three games of the 2023-24 Premier League campaign.

He then sealed a big-money move to Chelsea and hasn’t looked back since.