“Absolutely bonkers” – Former Chelsea and Liverpool defender expresses doubt over ‘very risky’ Manchester City transfer

Cole Palmer left Manchester City for Stamford Bridge and Chelsea during the summer transfer window in a deal that has now been labelled as ‘very risky’ by one former-pro.

The England youth international had been on the search for more certain game-time for a number of months, having fallen somewhat down the pecking order under Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium, and even further down following the signing of Jeremy Doku.

Riyad Mahrez’s Manchester City exit for Al Ahli in the Saudi Pro League handed Palmer plenty of hope that increased game time in the Etihad first-team could be right around the corner, along with some very convincing showings in both the Community Shield and Super Cup.

However, the £55 million signing of Belgium international Doku forced Cole Palmer’s hand and a late move from Premier League rivals Chelsea provided City with the opportunity to secure the valuation they had been seeking for the academy graduate earlier in the market.

After rejecting a £30 million move from Brighton & Hove Albion earlier in the market, Manchester City officials finalised a deal with Chelsea worth an initial £40 million with a further £2.5 million in add-ons for Cole Palmer.

Now, speaking during an interview with Betfred, former Chelsea and Liverpool defender Glen Johnson has described Stamford Bridge’s deal to sign Cole Palmer – a player with very little Premier League experience – for £45 million as “absolutely bonkers”.

Johnson said, “Being completely honest, I had never seen him play before his debut for Chelsea.

“To pay £45 million for a player with his level of experience sounds absolutely bonkers, but the club must be incredibly excited by his potential to offer Manchester City that sort of money.”

He continued as part of a wider-ranging conversation, “On the face of it, it seems like a very risky transfer but only time will tell if Cole (Palmer) can justify the money that Chelsea spent on him.”

After graduating from Manchester City’s academy system, Palmer accumulated a total of 41 appearances across all competitions for the Etihad first-team but registered just 1,482 minutes of on-field action – an average of 36.1 minutes per appearance.

In that time, Cole Palmer scored a total of six goals and provided a further two assists for the club, including impressive strikes in the FA Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup only last month, with the latter goal proving to be the winner in the one-off final occasion.

City’s focus when it comes to academy graduates this season are largely focussed on just two names, with Rico Lewis expected to continue excelling in a versatile full-back role, while there are extremely high hopes for Norway youth international Oscar Bobb at senior level.