West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady says the club struck a deal to sign Cole Palmer before Chelsea ‘swooped’ in and won the race for the attacking midfielder last summer.
Palmer, a graduate of Manchester City’s academy, informed his boyhood club he wanted to leave in search of regular game-time and the 21-year-old would go on to complete a £40million deadline-day move to Stamford Bridge.
Eyebrows were raised at the size of the fee given Palmer had made just 19 league appearances for City under Pep Guardiola, but the youngster has proven his doubters wrong – and then some – in what has been a phenomenal debut season at Chelsea.
A second hat-trick in three games, to inspire the Blues to a thumping 6-0 victory over Everton on Monday night, took Palmer’s tally for the season to 20 in the top flight, putting him level with Erling Haaland in the goalscoring charts.
Widely considered the signing season in the Premier League, Palmer now appears a shoo-in for England’s Euro 2024 squad, with many supporters even calling for him to be thrust into Gareth Southgate’s starting XI.
In her weekly column for The Sun, Brady praised Palmer’s remarkable campaign and described Guardiola’s decision to let him leave as a ‘selfless act’.
According to Brady, David Moyes ‘tried very hard’ to lure Palmer to the London Stadium before the Hammers were beaten to the England international by their city rivals.
‘Pep Guardiola was certain Cole Palmer would be a star for Manchester City yet allowed him to go to Chelsea for about £40m. On the evidence of 20 goals this season, three of them of [Jimmy] Greaves-like quality of Monday, you might expect that Guardiola is kicking himself,’ Brady..
‘City’s lack of a finisher against Real Madrid may have underlined his regret but I’d back Pep every time time.
‘And his explanation that he let Palmer leave because he would not guarantee him regular first-team football is a selfless act, both rare and generous. And it is bound to help Chelsea be a major rival over the next few seasons.
‘Financial rules on allowable losses may have played a part in the decision but, still, from all the newsreels I have seen, Cole is as cool a dude in front of goal as Greaves himself.
‘Which is probably why David Moyes tried very hard to sign him. We even had a deal agreed with City until Chelsea swooped.
‘It may well be that Guardiola’s decision was justified in his eyes by Palmer’s similarity in quality to Phil Foden. Simply, Foden came first – by two years.’
Brady believes Southgate will be wishing he had as many ‘high-quality’ options in defence as he does in attack ahead of this summer’s European Championships in Germany.
‘Guardiola no longer has to choose between the two [Palmer and Foden], but Gareth Southgate will,’ she continued.
'Foden, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham are almost always in Southgate’s top team and, unless Palmer plays in a different position, his chances of starting are even lower than at City.
'So Southgate will be happy about the acknowledgment of more attacking talent. If only he had as many top-notch defenders.'
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