Manchester United have missed out on quite a few world-class players in recent years and another has been added to the list as per The Athletic’s Talk of the Devils podcast.
A lot has been written about the Red Devils failing to sign Erling Haaland despite former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s best attempts with the Norwegian currently making a mockery of Premier League defenders.
While the club did try its utmost best to sign Jude Bellingham, the England international ultimately went on to move to Borussia Dortmund before securing a dream transfer to Real Madrid where he has already won the Champions League.
And now, Manchester United U18 coach Colin Little has claimed that the 20-time English league champions were this close to landing Cole Palmer, back when he was at Manchester City.
Palmer was close to United
It is well-established that the England international is a United fan but City offered him a more lucrative deal before he eventually jumped ship to join Chelsea.
“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,” Little said on the podcast.
“He was umming and ahing and I knew he was a big United fan. 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.”
United even spoke to him
“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?”
The 22-year-old. described as “the best in the world” has been a revelation since his move to Stamford Bridge, netting 39 times while also registering 22 assists in only 70 starts.
His ability to play all across the front line and his eye for a pass and his ice-cold finishing would have made him a perfect weapon for Ruben Amorim.
Who knows, maybe Palmer might still move to his dream club in the future? For now, the head coach has Amad, who is equally devastating and hopefully he can recover before the season ends.
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
