Revealed: Why Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino did not want to sign Cole Palmer from Manchester City this summer

The Englishman moved to the Stamford Bridge for a reported fee of £45 million ($57m) in the summer after having not found his place in the starting lineup of the treble winners. The 21-year-old has made waves with the Blues, even scoring an injury-time equaliser against his old club in a 4-4 draw. However, it has been reported by the Daily Mail that Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino was against the signing of the youngster. The Argentinian coach believed that the club already had enough wide attacking players but was eventually convinced by Chelsea's head of recruitment, Joe Shields.

Palmer has quickly become a starter for the Blues and a fan-favorite having scored the third most goals for the club this season in the Premier League, only behind Nicolas Jackson and Raheem Sterling. The youngster also earned his first call-up for the England national team last month when the Three Lions took on Malta and North Macedonia, playing both games as a second-half substitute.

According to Opta, when Palmer played for Gareth Southagate's England against Malta, he became the 13th Chelsea player to play for the side under Southgate, the most for any club in the Premier League.

Pochettino has reported that he has been surprisingly happy with Palmer's abilities and he will now start for the Blues when they take on Brighton on Sunday, December 3 as they will look to return to winning ways after a 4-1 defeat to Newcastle United last weekend.