Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany is convinced that Chelsea's Cole Palmer "will score" and 'have his moment' against his former club in Saturday's Premier League showdown at the Etihad Stadium.
The 22-year-old ended his 13-year association with Man City when he joined Chelsea in the summer of 2023 for a reported £45m and he has since established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League.
Palmer was crowned 2023-24 PFA and Premier League Young Player of the Season after recording 27 goals and 15 assists in 48 appearances in a magnificent debut campaign for Chelsea.
The England international has since contributed with 14 goals and six assists in 24 matches so far this term, helping Chelsea climb into the top four of the Premier League and two points ahead of Man City in fifth.
Many have been left perplexed by Man City's decision to part ways with Palmer, who initially thrived under Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea before cementing his star-player status under Enzo Maresca this season.
"Palmer is a spectacular footballer"
McInerney has acknowledged the threat that Palmer is likely to pose to a defensively frail Man City side who let a two-goal lead slip to lose 4-2 at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Asked if Palmer is Chelsea's danger man who Man City will need to stop on Saturday, McInerney told Sports Mole: "100%. Cole Palmer's fearless. He's the kind of player that will revel a game like this.
"I've been watching Cole Palmer for many, many years and I felt a real shot of pain when he left Man City, because I knew he was going to go on to very, very good things. I didn't predict this level of brilliance, this level of output, but I knew he'd be a top-class player eventually, approaching world class arguably.
"Cole Palmer is a spectacular footballer and he absolutely is the danger man. Football comes easy to some and Cole Palmer is one of them.
"Technically superb, doesn't seem to care about anything, in a good way. The quality of the opponent doesn't really matter - scoring in the Euro 2024 final for England, adding hope to a whole nation - it just comes easy for him.
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McInerney: 'The idea Palmer won't be involved at some point is futile'
"He absolutely will score against Man City. If I was a gambling man, one thing I would be certain to gamble on is that Cole Palmer will score in this game.
"Doesn't mean City are going to win or Chelsea are going to win, but it just means Cole Palmer will have his Cole Palmer moment, because that's what he does. It'll probably be a penalty, it could be a free kick for 20 yards, I don't know, but he's too good to not be involved in some way.
McInerney added: "I don't think he feels the need to prove anything to anyone really, because I don't think he's wired that way.
"I think he just does his thing and gets on with it. Some people are fired up by personal motivation to prove others that they were wrong about him, [but] I think he doesn't care.
"I think he just believes in himself. I think it's just what he does and I think that's how he'll be approaching this game... the idea that Cole Palmer won't be involved at some point feels sort of futile because he's just too good."
McInerney has also shared his thoughts on whether he thinks Man City will prevail against a Chelsea side including 'a collective of players that still don't all fully know each other'.
Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion ahead of Man City's clash with Chelsea.
Oliver Thomas
