Chelsea star Cole Palmer opens up on crunch Pep Guardiola talks that led to Man City exit

Cole Palmer has explained how Pep Guardiola handed him a transfer ultimatum in the summer that eventually saw him leave Manchester City for Chelsea in a £42.5m deal on deadline day.

Palmer was one of several Blues graduates to work his way from youth level to first-team and went on to tally 41 appearances and six goals, one of which came in August’s UEFA Super Cup final win. However, the winger became frustrated with a lack of game time towards the end of his time at the Etihad.

After making just two Premier League starts in the Treble campaign, an opportunity looked to be opening up with Riyad Mahrez leaving - but Jeremy Doku’s arrival left Palmer asking questions. He ultimately decided to leave following a chat with Guardiola over game time.

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The 21-year-old has elevated his levels at Chelsea, grabbing ten goals and seven assists in 24 matches so far this season. He told the Daily Mail that he was surprised to be let go by City, whom he still holds deep affection for, given he “didn’t initially want to leave”.

He added: “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.

“I was a bit confused why they wouldn’t let me go on loan but [then] I said I wanted to go to Chelsea and I’m glad it’s turned out the way it has.”

Palmer is a regular starter under Mauricio Pochettino despite early concerns about game time amid a bloated Chelsea squad. He has since become a two-cap England international and may be