They say that if you want to live a free life and never feel tied down, you should not develop connected to anything that you can’t pack up and dash out the door with in a minute. People depart and things change; becoming partial can only lead to misery.
Manchester City have mastered the art of not being very emotionally invested in their players, so that when the inevitable happens, they are not left with bruised feelings. Whether it’s allowing aging veterans to sail off into the sunset or key players going for a new challenge, the Blues never look back when a player leaves. They are able to progress.
It’s a fantastic mindset to have. It guarantees that Pep Guardiola’s team is never overly reliant on a single player and that the roster is always renewed and regenerated. Vincent Kompany, David Silva, and Sergio Aguero could have stayed another year, but the time had come to let them go. Losing players like Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling, Ilkay Gundogan, and others might have been devastating, but City have kept going forward. They make confident judgments, and even if it has taken a year to replace a player on occasion, they have emerged stronger from each departure.
However, the sale of Cole Palmer this summer may be an exception to the trend. He could be the one purchase they live to regret.
Of course, not right now. Despite recent defeats, City has had a solid start to the season, with six wins already under their belts and a place in the Champions League knock-out stages all but certain. They are not any less talented, but they may have let a world-class talent slide through their fingers.
After Riyad Mahrez left in the summer, it looked as though Palmer would finally get his break in the first team. His performances in the Euro U21s semi and final helped England secure the trophy and he foregoed his extra time off to return to City for pre-season. A sensational strike against Arsenal – reminiscent of Mahrez – in the Community Shield appeared to be his breakout moment.
But Premier League minutes remained scarce, even if there was another great display and goal in the UEFA Super Cup. But Palmer wanted more and that’s when free-spending Chelsea came calling. £40m for a young player with hardly any Premier League starts to his name is too good to turn down. Obviously. But it may turn out to be a steal and Chelsea’s best piece of business in their free-spending era.
Despite spending over a billion and having more forwards squeezed in than a Garth Crooks team of the week, Palmer is already emerging as Chelsea’s most consistent and effective attacker. He’s now starting matches ahead of the likes of Raheem Sterling, Mhkhailo Mudryk, Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke when it might have been expected he’d be spending longer on the bench for longer than just his first three games.
Against Burnley last weekend he grabbed his first goals and assists of what will likely be many for the club. Mauricio Pochettino has been blown away.
“He is a very talented player and he has the quality and he surprised me when I arrived because it was the day before the transfer window closed,” he said. “The way he reads the situations and what the team needs in every situation, he can be the player who can link with his team-mates.
“He is still very very young but with great personality and he has the talent and the quality which we saw today.”
Palmer is practically the only signing Chelsea have made in the last year of ridiculous spending to hit the ground running. He looks destined to reach his full potential and if he does he will become excellent, a player who would fit right in at City.
For the first time, City may live to regret selling someone.
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