Cole Palmer

[handsofstone]

This deal was too good to turn down

But I probably would've prefered a mid-table club to buy him for £25mil(ish) and then we'd insert a sell-on clause or a buy back of £60mil as there is a real player there

But £45mil right now is just impossible to turn down

 

[Pubteam Lomas]

Whenever I'd seen him play for the EDS side I always saw him play centrally, drifting more to the right.
Last season on the very occasions he got a chance he was used primarily on the left.
Don't think that helped him, but we had Mahrez, Foden and Bernardo for the right.
He was terrific against Chelsea in the last game (first half mainly), but I think his chances were always going to be limited.

That said he was always gonna be a good option from the bench and I felt we needed a player in even with him here.
Think his departure leaves us in a similar position in terms of numbers. BUT £40-45m is a lot of ££££££££s.

 

[cleavers]

Again, others might be fine with the academy becoming a meat factory but that's never the way I've seen it.

Luckily you're not in the hierarchy at the club, and if you think it's a "meat factory" you just don't get it at all.

The academy is just a part of the clubs business, it's a school for footballers, from age 8 upwards, it invests in talent, and does an extremely good job at developing footballers (many local who may never be good at anything else, some not so local), a few will make it at City, most will return that investment the club put into them.

 

[daztrueblue91]

We lose players because they’re not at the quality of treble winners to displace the players we have. They then tend to be far more impatient than players were at the time of the ‘class of ‘92’ wankers were back then.

Lavia, Sancho and Palmer would all still be here (nor not leaving) if they had more patience.

I’d prefer academy graduates at the club playing for the first team rather than people bought in, but I would rather be in the situation we are now than being sat in perennial 7-9th and having our best players bought from us because they wanted to win things.

The cream always rises and no one that’s left us has gone on to do better away from the club.

Also notice you didn’t mention Lewis who came out of nowhere and because a key member of the squad last season.

I agree with most of this but I think it’s unfair to claim Palmer was impatient.

He’s been a first team player for two seasons now and I don’t think he’s made consecutive starts once. He’s rarely played in his favoured position and even when he’s played well, he’s been dropped for the next game.

It feels like he’s always been a squad filler for us rather than a player being nurtured and developed for a key role like Phil.

It’s obvious Pep doesn’t think he’s good enough to get a first team place with us and in that case £45 million is excellent business.

 

[not my fault!]

But I don't think there is a proper chance of anyone breaking through to any meaningful level.

Foden is held up as the standard that other academy players have to be at in order to make it but that's unrealistic. The majority of the signings we make aren't his level anyway. And he still doesn't make it into the starting eleven half the time.

Again, others might be fine with the academy becoming a meat factory but that's never the way I've seen it.

We used to produce quality players and then lose them because we were shit. Now we produce quality players and lose them because it's easier in the short term to throw money at a hole in the squad.

The club said years ago that the plan for the academy was to make it fund the first team. Each season we want 3 players emerging, 1 to sell to a lower club, 1 to sell to a higher club and 1 who we can get an absolute premium on or who will break in to the first team.
Add in that over all the clubs in our group and now with the addition of a Brazilian club, then that’s a huge talent pool we have access to that funds the entire project.
It’s a business at the end of the day, we may not like it but it is. The same way they couldn’t care less if you or me go because a foreign fan will buy a full on package each week instead where the club makes more money. It’s a numbers game.

 

[Fordyboy46]

It's another attacking option gone from our bench, and if Mcatee goes that will leave just Alvarez on there to change things if we're struggling. Is there somebody else coming in?

 

[Asa's left peg]

Sell on %, buy back? Or am I just being greedy?

 

[jamielowndes]

Disappointed he's gone to Chelsea, as i think it will be awful for his career. They're a shit show of a club and I wouldn't be surprised if he gets sold within a year because Boehly wants to tear it up and start again one more time.

That being said, we obviously didn't see him as being a long term option like Rico or Foden. It is what it is. And im not turning down 45m for him.

Also, mind-blowing that Cole Palmer was sold for more than we bought Aguero for.

 

[Pubteam Lomas]

It's another attacking option gone from our bench, and if Mcatee goes that will leave just Alvarez on there to change things if we're struggling. Is there somebody else coming in?

Said the same. Bench is very weak.
The panic last Sunday was evident. Concede and get Foden on before the goals been checked.
Fortunately it worked because he's levels above, but he'll be starting and the options generally will be Doku or Alvarez, as you said.

 

[Colin Bells Boots]

Sell on %, buy back? Or am I just being greedy?

Think you know the answer .