Cole Palmer revealed he was advised against joining Chelsea last year, but making the move to west London “changed my life”.
Palmer joined the Manchester City academy at under-eight level and progressed through the age groups, making his first-team debut under Pep Guardiola in 2020.
However, the 22-year-old was unable to become an established figure in City’s side and Guardiola revealed last season that Palmer was “asking for two seasons to leave” in search of regular first-team football.
Chelsea agreed a £45m deal to bring Palmer to Stamford Bridge and his move has been a huge success, with the England star finishing his first season at the club with 27 goals and 15 assists in all competitions.
Reflecting on his decision to join the Blues, Palmer told ITV (via standard.co.uk): “How do I look back on leaving Man City? Yeah, it was a gamble because I didn’t know what I was going into, I didn’t know the club I was going into.
“I had people telling me, don’t go here, don’t go there. But I just decided what I wanted to do myself and did it.
“To move clubs, it changed my life. In many different ways, leaving Manchester where I grew up, getting away from people I didn’t need to be around. And the football as well obviously.”
Palmer has already scored six Premier League goals this season, four of those coming in one half of football against Brighton.
He also started both matches for England in the current international break, but was wasteful against Greece and then struggled to make an impact in the win over Finland.
