Cole Palmer is enjoying a breakthrough campaign at Manchester City, making more Premier League appearances than he did in 2021/22 while being one Champions League game away from matching last season’s total (3) and said in a recent interview with Sport Bible that he’s delighted how things are going.
The 20-year-old had an uncertain future over the summer, as it was uncertain what his role would be due to the stiff competition for places. Pep Guardiola decided Palmer was worth keeping than being loaned out, however, so he’s been given substitute appearances whenever possible to acclimatise to senior football.
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Palmer has made eight appearances in all competitions this season, featuring in three of City’s last four league outings and in two of their Champions League group games, so it’s clear Guardiola is trying to fast-track his development.
The England U21 international told Sport Bible that many were suggesting he should be loaned out over the summer as it wasn’t guaranteed that he’d get much time on the pitch in 2022/23, but Palmer always believed in his ability.
He said: “I believe in myself. I think I’m good enough. So I’ve just got to stick it out. And hopefully I can do it. All the talk of (Phil Foden) going on loan (in the past), it’s the same talk with me – ‘Am I going on loan?’ – but I think the best place to be if you want to get in the team and learn with the players, you’re going to have to stay there.
“I could’ve gone on loan, but everyone thought the best option was to stay. I’m a late developer so I probably wasn’t ready to go out on loan at that stage. The focus was more to just stay there and train with the best players. (Guardiola) said a few things to me, to stick at it and be patient. All the staff have said it to me often. I’ve got to trust him, and hopefully, get more and more gametime.”
It was inevitable that Palmer would break into the first-team after scoring 20 goals with eight assists from 32 games for the U18s and 22 goals with 11 assists from 29 games for the U21s, but he still has Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan who can play as an attacking-midfielder while Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish and Julian Alvarez can operate out wide, so he needs to work hard to get opportunities.
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