How fast has Cole Palmer matured at Chelsea - Former City man earns England call-up - video Dailymotion

A massive turnaround for Palmer at his new club.

Transcript

00:00 Another former City player now, Cole Palmer, also called up to the senior squad.

00:07 Just on Cole Palmer, what do you make of his transition over to Chelsea, another top club in the Premier League,

00:14 and how fast things have actually changed and how he looks getting maturer and taking games by the scruff of the neck,

00:21 even scoring that late penalty against City, showed huge confidence. What do you make of his move so far?

00:30 Well, it was written in the stars, wasn't it, that he was going to have a big role to play on Sunday.

00:34 An absolutely fantastic game. A stressful one to cover, I can assure you, but a really, really entertaining match.

00:40 Listen, Palmer, he was very well thought of by Guardiola. Guardiola, I don't think, wanted him to move on last summer,

00:48 but he was intent that he wanted to get more regular minutes. He was starting to get regular minutes.

00:53 I mean, he actually scored in the Community Shield final, the Super Cup final this year as well.

00:59 So, it was starting to make a bit of an impact, especially with Riyad Mahrez moving on.

01:02 There was maybe a feeling that he could step up and play more, but the reality was he was behind Phil Foden, the pecking order.

01:08 Probably was going to be behind Jack Grealish. I'm trying to remember the timeline of events.

01:11 I think Doakie was signed before Palmer, wasn't he? So, yes, he probably would have been behind Doakie.

01:17 So, I mean, talking fourth choice option out wide, I think he'd have got game time.

01:21 Would he have got the start? I mean, we've just spoken about Lewis. Lewis is, I mean, Lewis' company are younger,

01:25 which is worth mentioning, but Lewis is kind of happy at the moment, I think, with his role in the squad and to keep building up.

01:30 Palmer wanted to be a first team regular straight away. Said he got a great prize for him.

01:34 It felt like a good move for everyone, but I have to be honest and say that when he went,

01:38 I didn't think he was going to go and play regularly at Chelsea. First couple of weeks, he, I mean,

01:42 it's much through kind of just being eased into the team. He was struggling to get in, but the last,

01:46 I don't know, six or seven games, he has really impressed, looked really good.

01:50 Obviously, scored a couple of goals as well. He was brilliant against City and brought real talent.

01:55 I mean, in terms of dribbling, he's a really good player. His range of passing is good.

01:59 He really does everything really quick, you know, comes to him and within a split second,

02:03 he's made his action and his move. Similar to Phil Foden in that regard a little bit, actually.

02:09 So, I think that the Chelsea have got a really good player. I'm pleased he's been called up to England squad.

02:13 I mean, of the three players that were called up, him, Lewis and Konset,

02:17 maybe thought Palmer was just the quickest one called up. Not that I'm saying it's not deserved.

02:22 I think it is deserved, but he's maybe just a little bit ahead of schedule.

02:25 But I suspect that certainly, he's a player of real talent that he knows that will have a big role to play going forward.

02:31 So, yeah, but I'm pleased for Palmer as well. And I think it underlines that Man City now are becoming one of,

02:39 if not the best youth academy structure in the country. I mean, you only have to look at year on year,

02:44 they're winning the under 18s and 21s competitions. And you see the likes of Palmer coming through, Lewis, Foden.

02:52 There's others that I can't think of off the top of my head, but there's plenty of young players coming through the City ranks.

02:56 So, yeah, really encouraging aspect from them.