Chelsea are expected to return with an improved offer for Cole Palmer after having an opening bid of £35m for the winger turned down by Manchester City. Mauricio Pochettino is looking to sign an attacking player before the transfer window shuts and has given Chelsea the green light to move for Palmer. City are open to offers for the England Under-21 international and it is understood that a bid of £45m could be enough to convince the Premier League champions to sell the 21-year-old.
Palmer has been pushing for more opportunities at City and has made an encouraging start to the season, scoring against Arsenal in the Community Shield and Sevilla in the Super Cup.
There was a hope the youngster, capable of playing through the middle and on the right, would be given more opportunities after the departure of Riyad Mahrez. West Ham made an unsuccessful attempt to sign Palmer on loan this month. But City are not short of attacking talent and have added to Pep Guardiola’s options by signing Jérémy Doku from Rennes. Doku plays in a similar position to Palmer.
Pochettino, who wants a versatile forward, was forced into the market after Christopher Nkunku suffered a long-term knee injury. Palmer would find himself competing for a starting spot with Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke and Mykahilo Mudryk, who is injured.
Chelsea have assessed a number of attacking options, including Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe, Lyon’s Bradley Barcola and Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson, who is wanted by Tottenham. They have been linked with the Barcelona trio of Raphinha, Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres.
Nicolas Jackson has impressed as Chelsea’s No 9 and will soon have competition from Armando Broja, who is close to returning from a knee injury. They are open to signing another centre-forward but are prepared to wait until January before making a move. There is interest in Brentford’s Ivan Toney, who is suspended until January, but there is no need to rush into a move for the striker this week.
[uk.sports]