According to reports, Chelsea beat two Premier League rivals in the race to sign Cole Palmer from Treble winners Manchester City.
The 21-year-old impressed for Man City after breaking through under Pep Guardiola but he was not used regularly last season.
Palmer was heavily linked with a move away from the Etihad in the summer and it was initially assumed that he would be leaving Man City on loan.
The England U21 international ended up securing a permanent transfer to Chelsea – who have won four points from behind already this term – as Mauricio Pochettino’s side pulled off one of the surprise signings of the summer for around £42.5m.
Palmer has enjoyed a great start at Chelsea as he has been involved in three goals in his first six Premier League outings.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has now revealed that Palmer was always Chelsea’s “priority target” but they also considered Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams and Lyon’s Rayan Cherki.
“I can now mention something behind the scenes from the summer, when many wingers were being linked with Chelsea,” Romano told Caught Offside.
“Their priority target was Cole Palmer, but also in their list was Nico Williams of Athletic Bilbao. Chelsea scouted him for a long time before deciding to go for Palmer as their priority, but what now for Williams?”
He added: “There were also rumours in the summer about Chelsea and Rayan Cherki, but my information is that it was never close or concrete.
“He was scouted, as were many other players, but the reality, despite rumours in the media, was that Chelsea never advanced in any negotiation. Many other clubs are also following him in different countries, but at the moment there’s nothing concrete, no negotiation or anything else.”
Romano has also confirmed that West Ham and Brighton “also wanted Palmer this summer” but Chelsea’s willingness to “pay a big amount of money” made “the difference”.
“I also think it’s important to give credit to Chelsea for the signing of Cole Palmer, because he’s been fantastic,” Romano continued.
“West Ham and Brighton also wanted Palmer this summer, but Chelsea were ready to pay a big amount of money to Man City to make it happen, and it made the difference.
“For me, Palmer was also absolutely ready to play at Manchester City’s level too, but City have so many top players and so it’s understandable that they decided to sell when the right offer came in.”
