How Man Utd came 'close' to signing Cole Palmer
- Man Utd were in talks with Cole Palmer about a move from Man City
- Youngster considered making the switch between rivals aged 16
- Chelsea went on to become the ultimate beneficiary of breakthrough
Manchester United were "close" to signing Cole Palmer before his first-team breakthrough at Manchester City and eventual high-profile transfer to Chelsea one of the club's former coaches has revealed.
Palmer grew up a United fan in Wythenshawe, the area to the south of the city where Marcus Rashford was also raised. But he was spotted by Manchester City at the age of eight and instead joined the academy ranks on the blue half of the city.
The young forward went on to make his senior debut aged 18 in September 2020. Palmer racked up 25 appearances during City's treble-winning season in 2022/23, but frustration over a lack of more meaningful playing time prompted a surprise £42.5m transfer to Chelsea that summer, which has served to catapult Palmer's career onto a whole new level.
It has now been revealed that things could have been very different when Palmer was seriously weighing up whether to swap Manchester City for United as a 16-year-old.
"I know Cole Palmer's family quite well, I know his dad and his uncle, and we were close to getting Cole Palmer when he was about 16, believe it or not," United youth coach Colin Little told The Athletic's Talk of the Devils podcast.
"I knew he was a big United fan," Little added. "He was at that age where you're allowed to leave, 16 is it? And they were umming and ahing, Manchester City, about it.
"I think in the end Manchester City made him a good enough offer. But really, he was always a Manchester United fan and it was close anyway, I remember speaking.
"I think City needed to show him a bit more love and that kind of stuff. We never quite got it over the line but it would have been nice if we did, wouldn't it?"
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