Manchester City’s Cole Palmer is reportedly undergoing a medical today ahead of his move to fellow Premier League side Chelsea.
The 21-year-old winger and attacking midfielder has excelled throughout Man City‘s youth ranks and has already impressed in the 25 senior appearances he made across all competitions last season, seeing him find his way onto the bench more regularly at the start of this new campaign.
Having most recently scored in the Community Shield and during the UEFA Super Cup over the past month — both in fine fashion, might we add — City fans have been enjoying seeing the local youngster make the most of his cameos but look to soon be saying farewell.
Chelsea launched their first bid earlier this week and after agreeing on an estimated £45 million fee (£5m being add-ons) for the Wythenshawe-born youngster, the likes of David Ornstein, Fabrizio Romano and more are reporting that Palmer is undergoing his medical today (Thursday, 31 August).
Cole Palmer is due to undergo his Chelsea medical this morning ahead of his £45m move from Manchester City. 💰
Cole Palmer to Chelsea looks to be nearly over the line.
Manager Pep Guardiola insisted that he has been impressed with Palmer thus far, adding that “he showed character” in the Super Cup and did well to not only put more established defenders through their paces but score a crucial goal as well.
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However, when questioned about his future, the Spaniard accepted that he will obviously want to play more regularly this year but added the caveat: “I don’t think a loan is going to happen. He’s going to stay or he’s going to be sold.”
Now, just 24 hours later, it looks as though the latter is the case and Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino is about to secure his 11th signing of the season as they begin yet another season of expensive restructuring, with several other players heading out the door.
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How much Palmer will actually feature in what is still such an oversaturated squad remains to be seen.
With personal terms also already said to be agreed, Palmer to Chelsea is expected to be confirmed by both clubs imminently, though the specifics of his contract and weekly earnings etc. are still yet to be revealed.
What do we reckon, Blues, would you rather he’d stayed and tried to fight his way into the first team more regularly a la Phil Foden or is it the right move for him?
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From news out soon-to-be-announced outgoings to other incoming this summer, it was also confirmed yesterday that the club had agreed on a fee just shy of £50m for Wolves midfielder Matheus Nunes, with another City youngster, Tommy Doyle, heading the other way.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
31st August 2023 
