One of the Premier League’s best players during the 2023/24 season was Manchester City academy graduate Cole Palmer. The 22-year-old joined Chelsea from their top-flight rivals on the blue half of Manchester for a fee of £42.5m.
It is fair to say that his first season at Stamford Bridge exceeded expectations. The England international, who scored in the final of Euro 2024, scored 25 goals and grabbed 15 assists for the Blues in just 45 appearances last season. That included 22 goals and 11 assists in 33 top-flight games for Chelsea.
His 33 combined goal involvement were more than any other Premier League player last season. Erling Haaland and Ollie Watkins were the only two players to register more than 30 in the English top flight, with 32 apiece.
However, perhaps even more impressively, there were only two players with more combined goals and assists last season in Europe’s big five leagues. They were Palmer’s England teammate Harry Kane, who registered 44 goals and assists, and Kylian Mbappe, who scored and assisted 34 times in Ligue 1.
Name
Games
Goals
Assists
Combined G/A
Harry Kane
32
36
8
44
Kylian Mbappe
29
27
7
34
Cole Palmer
33
22
11
33
Artem Dovbyk
38
24
8
32
Erling Haaland
31
27
5
32
Ollie Watkins
37
19
13
32
Serhou Guirassy
28
28
3
31
Lois Openda
34
24
7
31
It was perhaps a poor judgement on Pep Guardiola's account to let Palmer leave, given his obvious talent, which was also on show for City just weeks before he departed the Etihad Stadium for west London. He scored in the Community Shield against Arsenal and the UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla.
With the transfer window once again here, City could well be in danger of repeating their mistake of selling Palmer, by letting another academy graduate leave the club in search of regular first-team football.
Man City transfer news
The Cityzens could be in line to lose some of their stars this summer, with the likes of Ederson and Kevin De Bruyne both linked with moves away from the club. Both are wanted by Saudi Arabian sides, with the Brazilian goalkeeper likely to leave, but the legendary Belgian midfielder is seemingly set to stay at the Etihad Stadium this summer.
However, one of the more frustrating outgoings for City this summer could see starlet Oscar Bobb depart the club, in a repeat of the Palmer sale. According to a report from Danny Rust and Dean Jones of GIVEMESPORT, Bobb 'has gained interest' from Newcastle United and Borussia Dortmund.
The two clubs are thought to be interested in doing a deal for Bobb on either a loan or a permanent basis. There is a strong interest in the player coming in, particularly from St James’ Park.
Should a permanent deal be struck, a potential price is yet to be named for Bobb. However, the young attacking midfielder is valued at £9.4m by Football Transfers, and given the money City got from selling Palmer, it can be inferred that a deal could be struck anywhere between the £10m and £40m mark.
Oscar Bobb’s City career so far
The 21-year-old Norweigan has struggled to nail down a spot for City so far in his short career but has impressed when he has played. He played 26 times in the first team last season, including 14 games in the Premier League. Frustratingly, he started just two games, and averaged 22 minutes each appearance, playing 295 minutes in total.
He grabbed one goal, which, ironically, came against the Magpies at St James’ Park. That goal was crucial for City; a stoppage-time winner, assisted by the ever-classy De Bruyne, ensured the Cityzens completed an impressive comeback in a game they were losing 2-1 after 37 minutes.
Bobb also registered an assist in the Premier League, during a 6-1 thrashing of Bournemouth, and got himself a goal in the Champions League away to Red Star and an assist in the FA Cup against Huddersfield.
It is not easy to get into that side, ahead of the plethora of talent Guardiola has at his disposal in the attacking midfield role. Bobb is competing against the likes of De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden for a spot in the starting eleven.
Even if he were to move out wide, Bobb's competition would include the likes of Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish. City's side is not at all easy to break into, hence Palmer's departure last summer.
However, he is a talented youngster, an enterprising midfielder who is a real creative force. Last season according to FBref, he averaged 5.37 progressive passes and 4.33 passes into the penalty box per 90 minutes. The latter of those stats ranked him in the top 1%. It is worth remembering that is from a smaller sample size given his lack of minutes.
Stat (per 90 minutes)
Number
Progressive passes
5.37
Key passes
2.25
Passes into final third
0.52
Passes into penalty box
4.33
Expected assists (xA)
0.38xA
A pass is considered progressive if the distance between the starting point and the next touch is at least 10 meters closer to the opponent's goal or any completed pass into the penalty area.
Bobb is a highly talented young player, so to get such a lack of minutes naturally could hamper his development. As the footballing world saw with Palmer, he exploded when he left the club and had the chance to get regular game time. This is certainly something that could happen to the 21-year-old.
Under 23 scout Antonio Mango called Bobb an “electrifying” attacking midfielder, and it seems like a waste of his talent to merely sit on the bench for City. Be it a loan or a permanent move away, it could be the most ideal thing for the Norwegian attacking midfielder at this stage of his career.
For Guardiola, however, letting the in-demand talent depart could well come back to bite him once again.
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ByDan EmeryJul 23, 2024