Cole Palmer does not use to follow my instructions and does not pass to Kevin De Bruyne so we have to sell him
Former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott has revealed that Cole Palmer’s confidence and personality were evident in his training sessions with the club, according to Sportskeeda. According to Lescott, Palmer’s refusal to pass to Kevin De Bruyne during training sessions impressed then-manager Pep Guardiola, who recognized the young player’s potential.
Lescott stated, “Pep knew Palmer had something special because he doesn’t pass to Kevin De Bruyne when he asks for the ball. Pep knew he got personality because in training, if young lads come up and Kevin shouts for the ball, even if it’s not on [for a pass], they would try to pass to him. Cole doesn’t do that. If there’s something better on for Cole and the team, that’s what’s happening, not that Kevin needs the ball.”
Lescott’s comments suggest that Palmer’s decision to prioritize the team’s needs over passing to a star player like De Bruyne demonstrated his maturity and confidence. This trait, according to Lescott, was a key factor in Guardiola’s decision to let Palmer leave Manchester City for Chelsea in 2023.
Palmer has since flourished at Chelsea, scoring 22 goals in the Premier League and finishing second in the Golden Boot race. His impressive form has also earned him a spot in England’s Euro 2024 squad, where he has played a crucial role in the team’s success.
Lescott’s insights offer a unique perspective on Palmer’s development and Guardiola’s decision-making process. They also highlight the importance of confidence and personality in a player’s growth and success at the highest level.
Four Manchester City players will line up in the Euro 2024 final, with three former Blues also involved for both England and Spain – including one of their best defenders of the Pep Guardiola era.
Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte walks down the tunnel after he was sent off vs Crystal Palace
When Spain booked a place in the Euro 2024 final this weekend, it was a particularly sweet moment for one player in particular.
Used to proving critics wrong, Aymeric Laporte has emerged a key figure in Spain’s revival in the last few years, having got past the last-16 in just one of the last four tournaments since winning the World Cup in 2010. A Nations League success in 2023 could be followed by another European Championship this year, and Laporte has been an important figure in that turnaround – proving a quality replacement for Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique.
If there can be such a thing at international level, Laporte has been something of a new signing for Spain, having previously played his football for France – who were knocked out by Spain on Tuesday.
Laporte had previously played for France, the country of his birth, up to under-21 level, but is of Basque descent through his great-grandparents. That is not enough to qualify him to play for Spain, especially as his family were French-Basque, but it did allow him to play for Athletic Bilbao, who famously only allow Basque players to represent them.
After spending six years at Bilbao, Laporte moved to Manchester City in 2018, having still not made his France debut. In 2015, facing the prospect of being overlooked for their Euro 2016 squad, he said he would consider switching international allegiances to Spain – a move welcomed by then-manager Julen Lopetegui.
In response, France manager Didier Deschamps called him up to the senior squad, but didn’t hand a debut out. Still, it was enough to persuade Laporte to drop his bid to play for Spain and focus on France.
Fast forward to 2019, after a solid debut year at City where he played a key role in City’s domestic treble, and Laporte belatedly earned another call-up. This time, though, injury cruelly ruled him out of the two fixtures he could have played.
“I don’t think it’s because of a sporting issue, you’d have to ask him [Deschamps] personally,” Laporte said at the time, lighting a fire with the French FA. “I don’t have anything personal against him, but if someone has a problem it’s him and not me.
“I could be a world champion but these are the decisions of the coach, who is not calling me for, I think, personal reasons, and I have to respect him.”
Deschamps responded – essentially ending Laporte’s chances of playing for France. “What makes me uncomfortable is what he might say, and that is a lie.
“He has that freedom. He hasn’t played for us? It could have happened, ten seconds would have been enough. He has always been in the list of players called up, but there has been competition for places. Leaving him out is not a mistake, it is just my decision. I wish him the best and he’s free to make that choice.”
With Euro 2020 approaching, a year later in 2021, Laporte was tempted by Spain, with the Spanish FA working on his behalf to secure dual-citizenship following his time spent in Bilbao. FIFA approved the switch, and Laporte was playing international football at Euro 2020.
Now a first-choice centre-back for Spain, with 34 caps to his name in three years, Laporte is 90 minutes from becoming a European Champion. If he did that, it would be fitting that he helped knock France out in the semi-finals, still managed by Deschamps.
But Laporte is still seeking to prove people wrong. He may have won the war with Deschamps, but he is still strangely playing in Saudi Arabia having lost his battle with Pep Guardiola at City.
Never shy of airing his displeasure when he wasn’t playing, Laporte threatened to leave a couple of times before his exit last summer. Since then, Laporte has accused Guardiola of not telling the truth on his policy of allowing players to depart if that is their wish.
“That’s what he usually says. For several players it wasn’t like that, but I’m not going to go into that type of things,” Laporte said in March. “I decided to leave and I was able to leave. That’s it.
“I also made that decision for the moment, I think it was the right one, due to life circumstances and also because of my situation at City. I had been playing there for a long time, I had achieved almost everything and I had been playing for two years in a place that was not the position that I did not want to play.”
Blaming Guardiola for playing him out of position at left-back, and also overlooking him with excessive rotation at the back, Laporte added: “When a year, two years goes by and you do not play in the ideal place for you, it is a little frustrating because you do not show the best of yourself.
“You can make whatever efforts. I was used to playing centre-back and not so much on the wing. It’s not exactly the ideal position for me. In addition, they signed many other centre-backs during the last three years of my time at City and it was time to leave and not stay. I wasn’t quite a starter either, I wanted to play all the games, I am very young or young. I simply wanted to play more.
Laporte says he wants to return to Europe after his time in Saudi Arabia. Maybe the Euros will help remind some sporting directors of his quality. Another big performance in the final wouldn’t harm his chances.
It might also show Guardiola what he has missed out on. Deschamps might have been in the final if he had been more open to playing the centre-back who is never far from a controversy.
Leave a Reply