Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has reportedly asked the club to deliver the transfer of Chelsea star Cole Palmer as an ideal replacement for Kevin De Bruyne.
De Bruyne has long been a star player for Man City, arguably becoming one of the best ever to play in the Premier League as well, but he’s not getting any younger and his current contract at the Etihad Stadium is due to expire in 2025.
According to Fichajes, City boss Guardiola could now look to bring Palmer back to the club as an ideal long-term replacement for De Bruyne.
The report suggests Chelsea would ask for as much as €150m to let Palmer go, with the England international becoming a world class performer and one of the Blues’ most important players since making the move to Stamford Bridge from City last season.
Cole Palmer back to Manchester City?
Signing Palmer now would surely take an astronomical bid from City, and it’s hard to imagine that being feasible in this era of Financial Fair Play.
Still, we’ve seen City sign a lot of the world’s best players under their current ownership, and it won’t be easy to fill the void left by De Bruyne if he does leave at the end of his current deal.
MCFC would need to show a lot of ambition to bring in someone anywhere close to De Bruyne’s calibre, and who better than Palmer, who came up through their youth system before being allowed to leave for Chelsea?
The 22-year-old may well be keen to come back and prove himself at his former club, but Chelsea surely hold all the cards here as the player is tied to a contract until 2033, putting them under basically zero pressure to even consider any offers.
Chelsea will want to be back competing with City as soon as possible, and keeping Palmer will surely have to be a key part of that as he’s someone who can take them to the next level after a difficult and transitional few years.