Newcastle United have reportedly had a loan bid for Cole Palmer rejected by Manchester City.
That’s according to the Athletic, who state that the champions have rebuffed Newcastle’s approach.
Palmer is a 19-year-old attacking midfielder, and could be the next star to emerge from the Manchester City academy. And that’s why Pep Guardiola doesn’t want him to leave – even temporarily.
Man City have agreed to sell Ferran Torres to Barcelona in January, which is influencing their stance on Palmer.
The teenager reportedly features in Guardiola’s first-team plans for the second half of the season. That’s a blow for Newcastle, who could really have benefitted from signing him until the end of the campaign.
But at least that’s a better reason than ‘we don’t want to do business with Newcastle’…
Cole Palmer would have been astute and exciting for Newcastle
Compared to some of the other names linked, Palmer is less exciting.
While there’s been talk of World Cup winners arriving, Palmer merely has four Premier League appearances to his name. He’s only ever started once in the top flight, operating as a false nine in City’s 3-0 win over Everton earlier in the season.
One of his appearances came against Newcastle on Sunday, coming off the bench during the 4-0 drubbing. He would have been able to see firsthand that he probably could have made a big difference at St James’ Park.
But alas, he won’t be allowed to join the Magpies. Instead, more first-team minutes at the Etihad appear to be on the horizon. Meanwhile, Newcastle will need to look elsewhere.
However, it is interesting to see Newcastle target a player like Palmer. Obviously he doesn’t have a lot of top flight experience, and he would only be a short-term solution given the high regard he’s held in at Man City.
It appears PIF and co aren’t leaving any stone unturned as they look to plot a route towards Premier League survival.
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