Cole Palmer has revealed that Manchester City refused his request to be sent out on loan at the start of the season.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the 21-year-old said he was effectively given an ultimatum by the club to stay or leave on a permanent basis. Palmer ultimately chose the latter option, moving to Chelsea for £42.5m before the transfer window closed in the summer:
“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.”
Fans on X were surprised by the revelation that City didn’t give Palmer an option to go out on loan, although some feel he should have stayed and battled for game time:
I can’t believe that!! Why would City do that?
— Ray Hope (@RayHope111) January 9, 2024
“I wanted to stay ” So stay then.
— Paddy Wagon💙 🌲🐦🇪🇺🚴♀️ (@paddy_wagon) January 9, 2024
I’m going to guess that the tone of conversations with Palmer were a bit different to convos with McAtee and even Phil early in his City career.
Palmer wanted to play, not wait.
Can’t say I’m sad, we’re not lacking in his absence.
Trust Pep and team.— Balamb Fish (@Renzukoken) January 9, 2024
It is what it is
— Certi Cityzen (@CertiCityzen) January 9, 2024
Sounds like we messed it up but by the sound of it we would’ve been either kept him and not had Doku and I’d much rather Doku now looking back on it
— Jonny (@JMatthews746) January 9, 2024
He should have been flattered by this offer, Foden never went on loan and see where he is now
— Eddie•The•Big•Stepper (@ComotionBoy) January 9, 2024
Palmer was the one who made the decision to move
While it is somewhat odd that City refused to loan out the midfielder, it was the player’s choice to leave permanently..
With Riyad Mahrez having left the club, there were opportunities to play, as shown by his minutes in the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup.
However, it appears Palmer lacked patience and, unlike Phil Foden who waited for his chance in the first team, the former wanted to be a regular starter ASAP, leading to his departure to Chelsea.
