Chelsea considered other names before they landed Cole Palmer, including one winger now at another Premier League club.
That is according to Fabrizio Romano, who has been speaking on The Here We Go Podcast.
Chelsea signed Cole Palmer from Manchester City at the end of the last transfer window, and the 21-year-old has been a revelation at Stamford Bridge so far.
In nine Premier League appearances, the English attacker has scored four goals and provided two assists. One of his goals came against his former club City, a penalty kick which really left team-mate Raheem Sterling impressed.
Chelsea looked at other wingers before signing Cole Palmer
On the latest episode of The Here We Go Podcast, Romano claimed that Jeremy Doku was an option for Chelsea before Palmer’s arrival.
On Palmer and Doku, the Italian journalist said: “The feeling at Chelsea is that Cole Palmer will probably be a top, top player in the future. They paid an important fee but not a crazy a fee and they believe that in that case, they got a fantastic player for a good price. And so credit to Chelsea because they were able to keep this name secret and private for almost three weeks.
“At the beginning of August, they were considering multiple options, including Doku, including Nico Williams, obviously [Michael] Olise, different kinds of players. They decided to go for Cole Palmer at the beginning of August. It was a very secret name, but they were perfect in the strategy and they got a great player, so credit to [the] Chelsea board.”
Jeremy Doku would have been a good signing for Chelsea
Based on what Doku has showed at City so far, he could have been a great addition to Mauricio Pochettino‘s squad.
He has been a real handful for Premier League defenders since joining Pep Guardiola’s side from Rennes in a £55.4m deal (BBC Sport).
The Belgium international managed to register an incredible four assists in City’s 6-1 win against Bournemouth earlier this month.
After the start Palmer has made at Stamford Bridge, though, Chelsea will still be more than delighted with his arrival.
If he keeps this up, they will not be worrying too much about not signing Doku or Olise. In the end, things worked out quite well for the Blues.
Chelsea will need Palmer at his best after the international break, with another tough fixture awaiting Pochettino’s men. They travel to St James’ Park to take on Newcastle United, who do have a lot of injuries right now, so this may be a tricky match for them as well.
