When Chelsea signed Cole Palmer in 2023, eyebrows were raised at their decision to spend £42m on a relatively unproven winger.
Cole Palmer was frustrated at his lack of playing time for Manchester City, so he asked to leave the Etihad Stadium, having just been a part of the Blues’ treble-winning season.
His eye-catching goals in the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup were quickly followed by a demand to leave, and Chelsea wasted no time in snapping him up.
Manchester City v Arsenal - The FA Community Shield
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Any doubts over the £42m fee were quickly diminished as Palmer registered 27 goals and 15 assists in his debut season and earned an England call-up for Euro 2024. Last season he got 18 goals and 14 assists, including a starring role in Chelsea’s FIFA Club World Cup triumph.
James McAtee can follow Cole Palmer’s path if he leaves Manchester City
After Palmer paved the way for Manchester City academy graduates flourishing away from the Etihad, many others have found success in achieving big-money moves.
Liam Delap and Romeo Lavia are now at Chelsea, while others have earned big moves like Jadon Sancho and Brahim Diaz.
City’s academy has raised hundreds of millions of pounds in transfer fees in recent years.
James McAtee in action for Manchester City vs Aston Villa.
Photo by Molly Darlington/Copa/Getty Images
James McAtee could be the next player to search for success elsewhere having grown frustrated at his lack of minutes last season. He flourished in two seasons at Sheffield United but managed just nine starts on his return to City last term.
Now, Nottingham Forest have emerged as a possible destination for McAtee as he searches for a permanent exit from City. TBR Football understand Forest have set a maximum valuation of £30m on the England under-21 captain, even if City want closer to £40m – just like they got for Palmer.
James McAtee determined to show his talents with regular games
McAtee chose to represent England under-21s this summer instead of sit on the bench for City at the Club World Cup and looks set to leave permanently.
Like Palmer, he is a former winner of the Premier League 2 Player of the Year award and they boast similar records for City as academy graduates to the first team.
Games (starts) Goals Assists
Cole Palmer 41 (13) 6 2
James McAtee 34 (9) 7 0
Cole Palmer and James McAtee records for Manchester City. Source: Transfermarkt.
So, if there were initial doubts over paying a big transfer fee for an unproven Premier League player, Palmer’s modest record before leaving City should serve as an example not to judge the player by their headline statistics.
McAtee also boasts 75 appearances for Sheffield United across two seasons – one winning promotion from the Championship and another in the Premier League. As a U21 Euro winner, he will hope to thrive at Nottingham Forest if they can get a deal done.
Forest will hope he has the same explosive impact Palmer did.