Cole Palmer reveals he had to be persuaded to join Chelsea – 'I wasn't going to go'

came perilously close to missing out on , who is inarguably their most dynamic attacking talent since . The 22-year-old has been nothing short of sublime for the Blues following his £40million switch from in 2023.

In 14 months, he's scored 32 goals in 57 games, and blossomed into one of the finest talents in English football, and indeed across Europe. It's astonishing, therefore, to think that Palmer very nearly stayed put at the Etihad Stadium.

City, who had nurtured Palmer from the age of seven, and transformed him from a promising schoolboy into a Premier League prodigy, weren't too keen on letting him leave, but found Chelsea's bid too good to refuse. Palmer, on the other hand, needed a little more convincing. "I got persuaded," he admitted to earlier this month.

Chelsea moved quickly to secure Palmer's signature on transfer deadline day, but as the hours ticked by, chances of the deal collapsing began to increase. "I remember training on a Wednesday at City in the afternoon, and the news was 'they [Chelsea] are trying to agree a fee'," Palmer said. "Every time the ball went out I'd ask the kit man or the doctor if they've agreed the fee yet."

In the end, an agreement was reached, and Palmer was quickly whisked down to London for a medical. "I didn't really get a chance to see many people and say I'm going. I just had to get my stuff," he recalled, before explaining how he left City's WhatsApp group chat in typically 'cold' style: "I messaged the group chat, said 'Thanks and everything. I'm gone.' That was it."

Later in the season, City boss Pep Guardiola claimed that Palmer - an assertion Palmer denies. "No do you know what, I just wanted to go on loan," Palmer clarified, before explaining that Guardiola's reluctance to give him minutes, even after Riyad Mahrez's departure, ultimately forced him out the door.

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"Even when I was going to England [camps] with younger age groups, you had players there who were playing in the league every week. And you're looking around thinking, I can play in the league... when you're not playing, it's annoying," he said.

Palmer's transfer raised some eyebrows initially, especially with Chelsea sinking a huge fee on a player with only 19 Premier League appearances to his name. However, Palmer quickly proved his worth - and how misplaced Guardiola's lack of faith was - by scoring crucial goals against Tottenham and his former club, Manchester City, in a thrilling 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge.

By season's end he'd racked up an impressive 22 goals in the Premier League and a total of 25 (27 including his two goals for City before his departure) in all competitions - marking the highest tally by a Chelsea player since Didier Drogba's 37 goals in the 2009/10 season - and quite rightly earned the title of PFA Young Player of the Year in May, a fitting tribute to what has been one of the most remarkable breakout seasons in years.

The England ace has started the 2024/25 campaign as similarly-blinding pace, with seven goals in 10 matches so far. Reflecting on his rapid rise, Palmer revealed: "I knew I could do it," adding: "But for it to happen so fast... I surprised myself, yeah."