The untold story of Cole Palmer £42.5m transfer and Joe Shields masterclass
“I don’t like to use luck as a reason [for not scoring]. It’s something you can’t control. Clearly you need that in a game.”
It has been 14 months since a frustrated Graham Potter said that in a press conference. At the time, it seemed inevitable to virtually everyone that Potter did not have a long-term future at Chelsea.
The goalscoring problems that had also caused Thomas Tuchel issues during his successful time with the club would almost certainly carry over to whoever was appointed as Potter’s successor. Mauricio Pochettino was that man and early indications suggested the Argentine would also be tasked with solving one of the biggest problems in football – getting a team to score goals consistently.
It was not as if Chelsea had not tried to sign players to improve their fortunes in the final third. Under Potter and Tuchel, the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mykhailo Mudryk, Raheem Sterling, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and plenty more were brought in for big money. These are all players who had success in front of goal for former clubs.
That was never the case at Stamford Bridge, though, albeit Sterling and Mudryk are still playing in the present day. Getting to the root cause of the problem stumped Tuchel and Potter. And those working behind the scenes at Chelsea.
When Pochettino was appointed head coach, starting his role officially on July 1, 2023, there was a big expectation, more of an assumption, that Chelsea would bring in a proven No.9 in the summer transfer window. A striker did come in, in the form of Nicolas Jackson, a relatively unproven and inexperienced, but talented, centre-forward who enjoyed a fine finish to the previous season in Spain with Villarreal.
Jackson, for all of his talent and potential, was never viewed as the answer to Chelsea’s goalscoring problems. In the summer when Jackson moved to west London that Chelsea would ease the Senegal international into the club in his debut season at Stamford Bridge.
That has not been the case at all, however, with Jackson playing more than 3000 minutes this season in all competitions. Only five Blues players have been on the pitch for longer this term.
Jackson’s unexpected significance to the Chelsea side can be attributed to the fact Christopher Nkunku has only been able to feature for 351 minutes in his debut season in England. The £52million signing, who moved from RB Leipzig last summer after long-term interest from Chelsea, has had three separate injuries this season, something that has in turn derailed his campaign and start to life in a new country.
Nkunku was viewed by many as the potential saviour for Chelsea and their goalscoring woes. Before moving to England, the Frenchman scored 23 goals and provided nine assists in all competitions for Leipzig in a staggeringly impressive season for the versatile forward.
And after a pre-season full of promise, showing early signs of a connection with fellow summer signing Jackson, there was plenty of optimism and excitement surrounding Nkunku. But disaster struck in Chicago and Nkunku suffered a knee injury that would ultimately keep him on the sidelines until Christmas time, it felt like Chelsea had almost gone back to their original state.
But on deadline day, Chelsea’s season changed – and for the better. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Blues completed what looked to be a rapid move for Cole Palmer. Many had put two and two together and judged is as a panic buy, but that could not be further from the actual truth.
Joe Shields, Chelsea’s co-director of recruitment and talent, played such an imperative role behind the decision to bring Palmer to Stamford Bridge for £42.5million. Shields worked at Manchester City in two different roles for a total of just over nine years and in that time, he had watched Palmer mature into a player on the brink of exploding.
Fortunately for Chelsea, the explosion happened in SW6. Since moving to the Blues, Palmer has directly contributed to a breathtaking 36 goals in all competitions. The now-regular England international, who looks something of a shoo-in to be named in this summer’s European Championships squad, has scored 23 goals and provided 13 assists at his new club.
Shields has a close personal relationship with Palmer, too, which no doubt had a big role in luring the former City attacker to Cobham. It was a brave decision for Palmer to make. He was getting opportunities at the Etihad Stadium under Pep Guardiola but he knew his talent and promise warranted more.
“I just want to play football,” Palmer said last summer, around a fortnight before moving to Chelsea. “So whatever the best decision is when we speak together, that is what I will do. Obviously the best scenario is to stay at City and play but obviously you know what the competition is like, if they bring someone in. I don’t know.”
He could have chosen to stay and used Phil Foden for inspiration. Foden was on the periphery for years at City but he stayed, took his chances, and is now one of the best players in the country. And he is crucial to Guardiola’s plans.
Palmer, though, made the brave – and highly respectable – decision to move on from Manchester, the city he had grown up in and move to the capital to start a new chapter in his career. His decision has been more than vindicated.
There has been plenty of criticism over the club’s recruitment under Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali thus far, but there can be absolutely nothing negative said about signing Palmer at the modest price of £42.5million. And Shields, who at just 37 is already one of the highest rated in his field, had plenty to do with that.
