Cole Palmer

Only time will tell if we've dropped a bollock selling Cole, we got a good fee for him which is all profit.

However, the way the media darlings are blowing smoke up his arse, surely he'll be worth a billion by the end of the season, and if that's the case, we've fucked up :)
 
youngbob said:
Arsenal fans have turned on Zinchenko a bit, which is a shame. I do still wish we'd kept him and Jesus because I loved them but it was definitely more of a sentimentality thing. I do think Zinchenko would be making a rather nice partner for Rodri right now because he was comfortable coming inside, and he would have probably saved us needing to buy Phillips, but he wouldn't have got the minutes he wanted because he wasn't quite at the level required.

I think something Palmer said this week has been a bit revealing as well - he's admitted to seeing who we were bringing in and realising he wasn't going to play as often so he left. Now, players often need to step down to reach their potential before moving back up again. De Bruyne did a similar thing at Chelsea. But specifically as it pertains to Palmer, it's clear he'd reached his ceiling with us - we knew it, Pep knew it, and so did Cole.

He'll probably have a good career for Chelsea. He'll no doubt win a small handful of trophies and score 50-odd goals for them. But I don't think we'll ever be in a position where we look back and say "We never replaced him" because, while he might score the odd goal against City in the future, we'll never see him as the one that got away. He started 13 games for us in about three years. You don't tend to miss players like that, high as their potential is.

He wouldn't have got anywhere with us long-term so it was a smart decision for him to leave, but what's required at Chelsea is nowhere near what's required for us. Chelsea will consider top six a successful season this year and when push comes to shove they won't have enough. Next year they'll be pushing for the league and trying to get a Europa League run together - it'll be best to see what Palmer's made of when the pressure on him is sustained.

Time will tell whether Palmer's another Januzaj or something genuinely special. Because while United were under Moyes and he had all the freedom on the pitch to do whatever he liked, Januzaj was wicked. But then when Van Gaal came in and got serious and tactical as they were pushing for the Champions League and trying to win trophies, Januzaj dropped like a stone because he wasn't someone who could operate outside of a free role.

I don't think Palmer will ever end up where Januzaj did, where he was only good enough for an upper mid-table side in Spain and is now plying his trade in Turkey at the age of 28. I think Palmer's better than that. But when we look back on Palmer's career in a decade or so, we'll probably be looking at someone who was a nearly man. Good enough for a team on the fringes of the elite but not quite the complete package.
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Zinchenko is the modern Phil Neville. Decent squad player to fill gaps when your best players are out.

He's not physical enough to be a full back and not good enough to be a midfielder at the top level.

Lovely lad, but not elite enough.
 
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