While Chelsea have certainly unearthed a few gems with their lavish spending in recent transfer windows, there have perhaps been no better additions than that of Cole Palmer.
The England international joined from Manchester City for around £45m, and has instantly established himself as one of the top players in the Premier League.
Joe Cole has compared Palmer to Lionel Messi this season, and his goals and assists since joining speak for themselves.
It has been reported that club chief Joe Shields recommended Chelsea sign Palmer, with that decision proving to be one of the best made by the club in a turbulent time under the ownership of Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.
Chelsea deploy Joe Shields to secure Gabriel Mec signing
A key part of the club’s mantra has been bringing in some of the top young talents in the game, beating their elite rivals to the deals in the process.
Despite high-profile additions of Estevao Willian and Kendry Paez, the Blues are not done yet, and are now keen on adding Brazilian Gabriel Mec to their ranks.
The 16-year-old has been compared to Neymar already in his career, and has been a target of the club in the past.
In fact, it was reported Chelsea had closed a deal for Mec last summer, however he remained at Gremio.
Chelsea’s interest remains though, and according to GiveMeSport, the Blues have deployed the talents of Shields to try and get the deal over the line.
The report goes on to say that they are battling with the likes of Arsenal to complete the addition, with Gremio demanding a fee of at least £20m to part ways.
Joe Shields has more success stories other than Cole Palmer
In a time where Chelsea fans are protesting the way their club has been run since the takeover, the business completed off the back of Shields’ work has seen very little complaints.
As well as Palmer, Shields was key to Chelsea signing Romeo Lavia, who has impressed greatly whenever he has been fit.
His connections with the Manchester City academy has also seen the Blues convinced to take a punt on Jadon Sancho, who will be joining permanently at the end of this season.
They have also kept the Blues in the hunt for a number of players in the transfer market, with Shields understood to be key in Chelsea’s interest in signing Liam Delap.
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