Pep Guardiola stepped up to take his pre-match press conference this afternoon shortly before Mauricio Pochettino did, and was asked about Cole Palmer, the attacking midfielder that his team sold to Chelsea this summer.
Many have already been cheekily referring to Palmer as “Man City’s Kevin de Bruyne” as a talented young player they let go without giving him a proper chance.
Given we were on the losing end of the KDB deal, it’s nice to feel like we might be winning this one. Pep won’t be too worried though. As good as Palmer is, he wasn’t getting into the City team anyway, so it’s not a huge loss. Pep’s comments made it clear that he does rate him, although he wasn’t entertaining much chat about “regrets”:
“Cole Palmer is an exceptional player and a lovely lad and of course I wish him well at Chelsea,” Guardiola said, in his customary slightly chilly manner.
If Palmer ends up as an all time Premier League great like De Bruyne though… Pep might have to admit some regret at some point.