Why did Man City sell Cole Palmer to Chelsea? Transfer explained as Blues star prepares for FA Cup semifinal

Manchester City will seek to bounce back from their Champions League heartbreak in midweek when they face Chelsea in the semifinals of the FA Cup.

Pep Guardiola’s side won last season’s competition as part of a treble and also headed into the weekend as Premier League leaders.

The biggest immediate threat to their FA Cup ambitions is a very familiar face.

Cole Palmer joined Chelsea from City for £42.5 million ($52.8m) last August and has been a revelation amid a turbulent season for Mauricio Pochettino’s youthful side.

The attacking midfielder is level with Erling Haaland at the top of the Premier League scoring charts with 20, having backed up his hat-trick against Manchester United with a four-goal haul in a 6-0 thrashing of Everton last time out.

Palmer and Haaland neck and neck in Premier League Golden Boot race

Palmer has also assumed penalty duties at Stamford Bridge — much to the apparent chagrin of some team-mates — and has proved to be a nerveless presence from 12 yards.

When City received Chelsea’s offer, it looked like a very weighty fee for a talented player with only three Premier League starts to his name. The Premier League champions are also familiar with selling on jewels of their academy as a reliable source of revenue.

Almost eight months on, it’s hard to see beyond Pep Guardiola, Txiki Begiristain and the rest of the Etihad Stadium brains trust getting this one wrong. City remain locked in a tight title race, in part because they lacked attacking firepower in March draws with Liverpool and Arsenal. This week they bowed out of the Champions League on penalties against Real Madrid.

All of those sound like situations that Palmer, who has thrust himself into the player of the season conversation, might have