Chelsea reach £45m agreement with Man City for Cole Palmer as the England U21 winger prepares to have a medical at Stamford Bridge ahead of shock move
- Chelsea have reached an agreement with Man City for youngster Cole Palmer
- The Blues have had a £45m deal accepted for the 21-year-old winger
- Would Mohamed Salah ‘do the dirty’ on Liverpool by leaving? And what about Man United ‘diving’?: Listen to It’s All Kicking Off, Mail Sport’s new podcast
Chelsea have agreed a £45m deal with Manchester City for Cole Palmer as they prepare to continue their clear-out by letting Callum Hudson-Odoi join Nottingham Forest.
Chelsea identified City’s England under-21 starlet Palmer as an ideal candidate in their search for an attacker who can play wide and centrally and reached an agreement after seeing their opening £35m approach knocked back.
City valued Palmer at £50m but Chelsea hoped they would settle for slightly lower and reached a compromise for the 21 year-old of an initial £40m fee with a further £5m due in add-ons.
Palmer had already been subject of summer interest from West Ham and Brighton. And City manager Pep Guardiola admitted earlier this month that Palmer, who has shown his qualities once more with goals in the Community Shield against Arsenal and Super Cup against Sevilla, could leave permanently this summer.
Guardiola said: ‘I don’t know [if he will stay]. I don’t think a loan is going to happen. He’s going to stay or he’s going to be sold.’
Chelsea are closing in on a £45m deal to sign Cole Palmer from top-flight rivals Man City
Palmer (left) is set to undergo a medical at Stamford Bridge after a deal was agreed with City
Meanwhile, Forest are closing in on a deal for winger Hudson-Odoi who is surplus to requirements at Chelsea and has been training with their under-21s.
A potential move to Fulham has failed to materialise for the 22 year-old but Forest are now his most likely destination with the two clubs yesterday in discussions over the structure of the deal.
A move to the City Ground would see Hudson-Odoi reunited with Steve Cooper, his former England youth manager.
Hudson-Odoi was one of the stars of Cooper’s under-17 side who won the World Cup at their age group in 2017.
He went on to break into the Chelsea side but an Achilles injury in 2019 halted his progress and he is now set to move on in a bid to kickstart his career.
Hudson-Odoi may not be the only outgoing before tomorrow’s deadline with Trevoh Chalobah wanted by Bayern Munich and Conor Gallagher in Tottenham’s sights if they move for a central midfielder in the final 48 hours of the window.
Pep Guardiola (pictured) previously admitted he was unsure whether Palmer would stay at City
Palmer broke through the City ranks to make his first-team debut three years ago after coming off the bench in a 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Burnley.
Further cup appearances followed before he went on to feature in the Premier League for the first time against Norwich in March last year.
Palmer at the time described making his English top-flight bow as ‘a dream come true’ with the Etihad’s academy star hoping to follow in the footsteps of team-mate Phil Foden.
Mauricio Pochettino has been keen to reinforce his attack before the transfer window closes on Friday and will be delighted to have got a deal wrapped up for the England Under-21 international.
Mauricio Pochettino (right) was keen to secure a deal for Palmer (left) before the window closes
Palmer most recently starred in the UEFA Super Cup, where he scored City’s only goal in 90 minutes and was named player of the match.
Riyad Mahrez’s summer departure for Saudi Arabia was meant to give Palmer more starting opportunities, but he has so far only featured for 10 minutes in the Premier League this season.
He follows in the footsteps of Raheem Sterling who called time on his Etihad career in favour of joining Todd Boehly’s revolution at Stamford Bridge.
