'It was a high number' - Agent sheds light on Cole Palmer's £42.5m transfer to Chelsea from Man City that proved to be a bargain

Eyebrows were raised when Chelsea opted to splash out £42.5 million ($52m) on Palmer in the summer of 2023 but he has gone to play a starring role at Stamford Bridge. Palmer bagged 25 goals and 15 assists in his debut campaign in the capital and was voted Chelsea's Player of the Season as well as picking up the Premier League Young Player of the Season award.

Palmer has hit something of a goal drought in 2025 but has still underlined his importance to Chelsea this season under Enzo Maresca. The England international has 14 goals and six assists in 27 Premier League outings, leading his manager to admit the team "rely on Cole for everything". Signing Palmer certainly looks an astute piece of business by Chelsea and Frank Trimboli, who brokered the deal, says the Blues knew exactly what they were buying.

Trimboli told the Mail: "Manchester City understood the value of the player. They had a lot of other players who they thought at the time were more ready than Cole to be playing. They knew that potentially his future value was going to be high. Given the amount of football Cole had played, it was still a high number. There were people at Chelsea who had previously worked at Manchester City so they knew what they were buying. Credit to Chelsea because they were the ones who put the money on the table. Twelve months after that, that £40m looks like money very well spent."

Palmer has been included in Chelsea's Conference League squad for the knockout stages, after missing the league phase, and could feature on Thursday when the Blues take on FC Copenhagen in Denmark.