Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has praised Cole Palmer for his performances this season.
The winger was sold to Chelsea for £42.5m last summer and he is now among the candidates for Player of the Year. Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Guardiola admitted that he couldn’t offer the game time that Palmer needed to flourish at the Etihad:
“Look at Cole Palmer. What a development. I didn’t give him the minutes. The talent is there. It belongs absolutely to the players and what they do every single game.”
Guardiola was being very honest when talking about how managers don’t have a lot of impact on the development of players.
His comments on Palmer were in relation to Phil Foden’s FWA Footballer of the Year award. He was credited by reporters for having a big hand in the 23-year-old’s success but the City boss was keen to emphasise that a lot depends on the player themselves.
Palmer has had a phenomenal first year at Chelsea
There is no denying that the 21-year-old has flourished since leaving the Etihad Stadium. In 41 appearances for his current team, Palmer has scored 23 goals and provided 13 assists.
Of course, if he had stayed at City, there is no guarantee that he would have been as successful. He has had a lot of game time as a no.10; a position which he wouldn’t have played for City due to the presence of Foden and Kevin De Bruyne.
Will City regret selling the midfielder?
Based on his performances this campaign, it does look like the Premier League champions have dropped the ball when it comes to Palmer.
Guardiola has repeatedly said that the player pushed for a move away from City and it appears that decision has paid off for him. If he had been a bit more patient, though, he could have easily broken into the starting lineup under Guardiola.