Chelsea reach £45m agreement with Man City for Cole Palmer as the England U21 winger prepares to have a medical at Stamford Bridge ahead of shock move

Chelsea  have agreed to pay Manchester City a staggering £40million for England U21 international Cole Palmer.

The deal will include a further £5m in add-ons for the 21-year-old who is scheduled to undergo a medical on Thursday. 

Chelsea have told Palmer that will play on the right side of their attack or as a number 10.

The 21-year-old has been linked with a summer exit from the reigning Premier League champions given a lack of starting opportunities within Pep Guardiola‘s side.

City initially rejected a £35m offer from Chelsea, with Guardiola keen to keep Palmer in his ranks and mould him into a player for the future.

Chelsea are closing in on a £45m deal to sign Cole Palmer from top-flight rivals Man City

Palmer (left) is set to undergo a medical at Stamford Bridge after a deal was agreed with City

Palmer broke through the City ranks to make his first-team debut three years ago after coming off the bench in a 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Burnley.

Further cup appearances followed before he went on to feature in the Premier League for the first time against Norwich in March last year.

Palmer at the time described making his English top-flight bow as ‘a dream come true’ with the Etihad’s academy star hoping to follow in the footsteps of team-mate Phil Foden.

Mauricio Pochettino has been keen to reinforce his attack before the transfer window closes on Friday and will be delighted to have got a deal wrapped up for the England Under-21 international.

Guardiola was previously uncertain on whether Palmer would stay at City after admitting Palmer would either stay or be sold. 

Speaking after City’s UEFA Super Cup win in Athens, Guardiola said: ‘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.

Mauricio Pochettino (right) was keen to secure a deal for Palmer (left) before the window closes

Pep Guardiola (pictured) previously admitted he was unsure whether Palmer would stay at City

‘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.’

Palmer most recently starred in the UEFA Supercup  where he scored City’s only goal in 90 minutes and was named player of the match.

Riyad Mahrez’s summer departure for Saudi Arabia was meant to give Palmer more starting opportunities, but he has so far only featured for 10 minutes in the Premier League this season.

He follows in the footsteps of Raheem Sterling who called time on his Etihad career in favour of joining Todd Boehly’s revolution at Stamford Bridge.