Chelsea have reached an agreement with Manchester City to secure the acquisition of Cole Palmer in a deal worth £45 million.
The Blues agreed the deal as they prepared to proceed with their summer clear-out by allowing Callum Hudson-Odoi to join Nottingham Forest.
The West London club recognized Man City’s England under-21 star Palmer as an outstanding prospect in their quest for an attacker who can play as a winger and a striker, however, they have reached an agreement after watching their opening bid of 35 million pounds rejected.
Man City have originally valued Palmer at around 50 million pounds but the Blues led by Mauricio Pochenttino wished they would settle for just a lower price and reached a midpoint for the 21-year-old.
Chelsea have reached an initial 40 million pounds fee with Manchester City for the U-21 England International with an additional 5 million pounds in add-ons.
According to reports, the agreement was reached shortly between the two Premier League teams on Wednesday, 30th of August, after the Blues made a proper approach for the 21-year-old promising young player.
Cole Palmer is anticipated to undergo a medical test with the West London outfit on Thursday, 31st of August, in the eagerness to finalize a deal ahead of Friday, 1st of September which is the transfer deadline day.
The Manchester City academy product is currently under contract with the Etihad outfit until the summer of 2026 after he made an exceptional start to the new season.
Palmer scored for Man City in the team’s Community Shield loss to Arsenal and their UEFA Super Cup triumph over Sevilla.
Although it was initially unclear whether Man City would approve a move, a contract was quickly agreed between Chelsea and the player when Mauricio Pochettino backed a strategy to acquire an additional attacking player.
Chelsea have also assessed several choices, including Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe and Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson, although Tottenham Hotspur are advancing in their quest for the latter.
Palmer strives for usual playing time, but his journey to the Man City first team has been twisted by the acquisition of 55.5 million pounds winger Jeremy Doku from Stade Rennais.
Even though Riyad Mahrez’s move to Saudi Arabia over the summer was supposed to open the door for Palmer to start more games, but things were not the same for the young star, he has played for a total of 10 minutes in the Premier League thus far this season.
The Blues have signed several satisfying young players in the last windows since Todd Boehly took over as Chelsea’s new owner and the same was rehearsed this summer.
Palmer is one of the promising young candidates to come out of The Etihad Club side in recent years and has made the most of his senior chances under the leadership of Pep Guardiola.
Palmer had already been the content of summer attention from West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion. And Man City head coach Pep Guardiola acknowledged earlier this month that Palmer could depart permanently in this summer transfer window.
It was three years ago that Palmer made his City debut, off the bench in a 3-0 Carabao Cup victory over Burnley.
He finally made his Premier League debut in March of last year against Norwich City after making several appearances in cup games.
Palmer at the time said earning his English top-flight appearance would be a dream come true with the Etihad’s academy product aiming to follow in the footsteps of his City team-mate Phil Foden.
Mauricio Pochettino will be overjoyed to have sealed a deal for the England U-21 international forward before the transfer market shuts on Friday.
Most recently, Palmer was a standout in the UEFA Super Cup, where he scored Man City’s lone goal and was awarded the match’s most valuable player.
Palmer will follow in Raheem Sterling’s footsteps at Stamford Bridge to become part of Todd Boehly’s revolution after Sterling decided to leave Man City for Chelsea last summer.
