Cole Palmer made a surprising move from Manchester City to Chelsea. Palmer, who had risen through City’s academy since under-8s level, revealed in a recent interview that leaving City was never in his initial plans.

The 21-year-old, with six goals in 41 first-team appearances for City, expressed his desire to go out on loan for the season. However, City’s manager Pep Guardiola presented him with an ultimatum, stating he was either staying or being sold. Palmer found himself sold to Chelsea for a significant £42.5 million, a move that took him by surprise.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Palmer admitted, “Initially I didn’t want to leave. I said I would go on loan and play for a year, so I was ready for first-team football more because I didn’t play a lot of minutes [last season]. But then Pep said ‘you’re either staying or you’re getting sold,’ and, so yeah, I just got sold.”

Despite the initial confusion and surprise, Palmer revealed that expressing his desire to join Chelsea turned out to be a decision he’s glad about. The young talent acknowledged that Chelsea is a work in progress compared to City’s established status, having won the league five times in the last six years and completed a historic Treble last season.

Palmer, however, is relishing the added responsibility he’s been given at Chelsea, emerging as one of the key players under manager Mauricio Pochettino. He acknowledged the distinct stages of development each club is in, stating, “Everyone quite clearly can see the two clubs are in different stages. One is a project and one has established players. Our project is a young project. There are a lot of young players, and I thought I would fit the project well.”

Despite being in a team in transition, Palmer emphasized that he didn’t know the personalities at Chelsea before joining, making the adaptation process intriguing. The added responsibility and role in a young project were enticing factors for Palmer, who admits to having more responsibility at Chelsea than he had at City.

Currently, Chelsea’s leading scorer with eight goals in 16 league games, Palmer has become an integral part of Pochettino’s vision for the team. Pochettino has even drawn comparisons between Palmer and former Real Madrid star Angel Di Maria, acknowledging Palmer’s potential to be a player of similar stature.

“In the position that he plays, and because he’s a left-footer and because he has some similarities and the quality, he’s a potential Angel Di Maria,” Pochettino remarked. “But of course he’s performing really well from day one. He’s adapted very well to the club, to the team-mates, to Chelsea life, and yes it’s amazing because always you expect the player can perform well, but he’s doing excellent.”