‘He must be deficient’: Chris Sutton still has doubts about 21-year-old Chelsea prospect

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Chris Sutton has urged for some caution when getting too carried away about Cole Palmer’s positive start at Chelsea.

Cole Palmer, who’s a product of Manchester City’s academy, sealed a permanent move away from the Etihad Stadium in the summer.

The 21-year-old attacker completed a transfer to Stamford Bridge in search of regular first-team minutes, which is a decision that has been justified so far in the opening months of the season. He’s got two goals and two assists from his first seven Blues appearances across all competitions.

For Chelsea, they should be really happy with the £40million investment (Sky Sports) they made.

Chris Sutton has described Palmer as a “talented player”, but he’s warned there must be an underlying reason as to why Man City boss Pep Guardiola granted his sale.

When journalist Ian Ladyman suggested Man City made a mistake selling Palmer in the summer, Sutton responded on the It’s All Kicking Off podcast: “From what I’ve seen of him, I get what you’re saying. But then you’re sort of questioning Pep’s decision-making there.

“He must be deficient with something in Pep’s mind, whether it’s fitting into the Pep Guardiola style of play, whatever it is.

“While he’s a talented player, how can we sit here at this moment in time questioning Pep Guardiola? He doesn’t get a lot wrong, so maybe we should wait a bit longer before we cast judgement.”

The Daily Star claimed earlier this month that Guardiola felt Man City could afford to let Palmer leave in the summer because of the emergence of their 20-year-old youngster Oscar Bobb.

Regardless of the reasoning, Chelsea have managed to get themselves a fantastic deal.

Palmer’s still a young prospect with less than 50 first-team games in his club career, but we’re seeing he’s already a real force at Premier League level. He’s a key play for England’s Under-21s side on the international stage, too.

It already feels like the intelligent playmaker is someone that the Blues attack relies on to create and score chances.

Speaking via the club’s official YouTube account earlier this month, Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino explained that he’s giving Palmer a real freedom when he steps on the pitch to play and express himself.

We’ve seen him play as a false-nine, central attacking midfielder and a winger already in Chelsea colours. The most important thing is this exciting youngster is on the pitch and improving his game with top-level experience.