“Doesn’t make sense”- Agents question surprising Chelsea summer deadline day deal

Premier League agents have questioned Chelsea spending and the signing of Cole Palmer from Manchester City

Premier League agents have been surprised by Chelsea FC’s signing of Cole Palmer, which came late in the recently concluded summer transfer window from defending champions Manchester City.

As per the Athletic (subscription required), (h/t Football.London) plenty of agents have questioned Chelsea’s signing of players since the change of ownership. It is not without merit either given the lavish outlay under Todd Boehly.

Palmer’s signing has taken Blues spending to £1 billion under Todd Boehly. The American had laid out his own approach, which is to find top young talent from around the globe. While it is a football manageresque technique that gives results in the game, a lot of chips have to fall into place for it to translate into the real world.

This has seen the Blues take an aggressive approach towards the transfer window, as they broke the British transfer record to sign Moises Caicedo and previously splashed out on Enzo Fernandez and Mykhaylo Mudryk as well. This has become a topic of discourse among Premier League agents, who represent certain players and broker such deals.

However, Chelsea’s signing of Palmer was ranked as one that was unexpected among agents, and the Blues paid £45 million to acquire him, as one of the agents said:

“Chelsea didn’t need him. And he’s on his pathway; he’s done incredibly well to get the exposure he got at Manchester City, and that shows the level of player he is.”

“It doesn’t make sense for Chelsea. It doesn’t make sense for the city if they believe in him, but that might say something. Equally important, what’s it done for the lad? You’ve got a really tough pathway at Manchester City, but all the natural positive emotions of coming through an academy, I’d get them if he moved to go and play games, to be a superstar, and to be the first name on the teamsheet. But he’s just got the same problem now in a different shirt.”

At some point, we can all agree that Chelsea have been proactive in the transfer market since Bohely joined the team, but splashing the cash is just one part of the solution. We made hasty acquisitions in the last campaign that did not pay off and have once again tried to revamp the playing squad this summer. Boehly now wants to put emphasis on recruiting young players, and Chelsea’s scouting team has done a terrific job of locating elite prospects. But we must also be conscious of the need to sign players with more experience and prioritise them on the first team.

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Speaking of Palmer, it was a wise move on our part to sign him as we only have Noni Madueke playing on the right wing and he hasn’t yet seen a full Premier League season. Palmer’s signing will relieve some of his strain. He wouldn’t have played enough if he had stayed at City since Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva already operate from the right wing under Pep Guardiola.