Chelsea have completed the signing of Manchester City youngster Cole Palmer in a £42.5m deal.
The England U-21 international joins the London club on a seven-year contract with the option of an eighth year. He is Chelsea’s eleventh summer signing, with his addition taking the spending at Stamford Bridge this summer to over £350 million ($443m).
Palmer spent his youth career at City and made his first-team debut in September 2020.
The young attacker made a promising start to the season at the Etihad this season, scoring in both the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal and City’s UEFA Super Cup win over Sevilla last month.
However, he had made one substitute in City’s opening three Premier League games this season and has decided to move to Stamford Bridge, where he believes he has a greater chance of featuring regularly.
Palmer posted a heartfelt farewell message to City fans after completing his move:
“Manchester City has been a part of my life for 15 years, and it’s all I’ve ever known since the age of six,” Palmer wrote in an Instagram post on Friday.
“I have been very lucky to work with some amazing people along the way. To the coaches, the staff, the physios and all the people behind the scenes. I am very grateful and just want to thank you for helping me become who I am today.”
Palmer signed a seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge with a club option of a further year. He will join Mauricio Pochettino’s squad ahead of their Premier League fixture with Nottingham Forest.
“I’m excited to get started, and it feels great to sign,” the Englishman told the club’s official website.
“I’ve joined Chelsea because the project here sounds good, and because of the platform, I will have to try to showcase my talents. It is a young and hungry squad, and hopefully, we can do something special here.”
Chelsea’s co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said: “Cole arrives with experience of winning the Premier League and Champions League and adds further quality and versatility to our attacking unit.
“He has showcased his talent and potential in the most challenging environments and delivered on the international stage for England this summer at the European Under-21 Championships. He is undoubtedly ready for this next step, and we are delighted it will be with Chelsea.”
