‘Cold Palmer’ is Pep’s loss and Chelsea’s gain: Why Palmer refused to pass to De Bruyne at City

In September 2023, Pep Guardiola decided to let Cole Palmer join Chelsea for £42.5 million, and honestly, that’s looking like a massive bargain now. Palmer, who is widely known as “Cold Palmer” for his celebration style and ability to remain composed under pressure, has been absolutely brilliant at Stamford Bridge.

He has scored 43 goals in 97 games and helped Chelsea win both the Uefa Conference League and the newly expanded Club World Cup just last weekend. In that Club World Cup final against PSG, “Cold Palmer” showed exactly why he’s such a big-game player, scoring twice and assisting the other goal in a 3-0 victory, and was named best player of the campaign.

A young player with character

Why Palmer’s story is even more interesting? Former City defender Joleon Lescott revealed on the High Performance Podcast last year that Palmer was the only young player at City who wouldn’t automatically pass to Kevin De Bruyne, when he called for it. While other academy players would try to get the ball to De Bruyne even when the pass wasn’t really on, Palmer would stick to his guns and make what he thought was the better decision for the team. He was young, but he had character.

City’s loss, Chelsea’s gain

Lescott said Pep actually recognised this as a sign that Palmer had something special — the personality and football intelligence to trust his own judgment, even when a club legend was asking for the ball. This makes it all the more puzzling why Guardiola decided to let go a technically gifted and mentally strong player.

Given how Palmer has become the talisman for Chelsea, it’s starting to look like a mistake that Pep sold a player who clearly thrives under pressure and could have been the natural successor to Kevin De Bruyne. Though another City academy product, Foden, has played an important role in City’s recent triumphs, Palmer looks a different class altogether. Pep will have had his own reasoning behind Palmer’s departure, but City’s loss is certainly Chelsea’s gain.