Pep Guardiola has ruled out the possibility of Cole Palmer leaving Manchester City on loan this summer, amid transfer links with Sheffield United and West Ham United. The young star continued his impressive start to the season with a goal in City’s Super Cup victory over Sevilla last night but is keen to play more minutes this coming campaign.
The Blades have kept their two domestic loan slots free so far, with just over a fortnight until the summer transfer window shuts, and The Star reported earlier this summer that Etihad Stadium officials could offer them the chance to develop Palmer if boss Pep Guardiola decided regular football in the Premier League would be beneficial for his development.
West Ham have since emerged as fellow suitors for Palmer, the England U21 international teammate of former Blades loanees James McAtee and Tommy Doyle. United are also keen to work with those two again in the future but can only loan one player from one of their domestic rivals while they are in the Premier League.
Speaking earlier this summer after his goal against Arsenal in the Community Shield at Wembley, Palmer said his wish was to “play as many games as possible” this coming season – and didn’t know where that would be.
And speaking after Palmer’s header in the Super Cup, before City won on penalties, Guardiola admitted: “The opinion I had when he arrived is he wanted to leave, but now I don’t know what’s going to happen.
“I don’t think a loan is going to happen. He’s going to stay or going to sell, but I think a loan is not going to happen. I understand he wants to be more active than the previous season. But Riyad (Mahrez) has gone so we have one more place there. I cannot say anything because, of course, all the decisions need to be made by the club. The club has to decide what the best is. All together, we will do it.”
Guardiola went on to praise Palmer’s “character”, adding: “It’s not easy to play against defenders like Marcos Acuna, for example, who is a top defender. It’s not easy, it’s a final. He’s a young player playing in these stages. It’s not easy for these guys. He played really, really good and made a fantastic goal, too.
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