Is Palmer's departure from Manchester City a huge loss?

On April 20, it was reported that Manchester City played Chelsea in the FA Cup semifinals, and an inevitable focus topic was Palmer.

The 20-year-old Palmer transferred from Manchester City to Chelsea for 42.5 million pounds this season, but he didn't expect that among a large number of billion-dollar stars, Palmer became Chelsea's thigh.

Manchester City fans may not have expected Palmer to play at Chelsea, and Pep Guardiola may have a hint of regret.

Palmer started the season in the UEFA Super Cup and Community Shield for Manchester City, scoring one goal each and making one league substitute appearance. He made 38 appearances for Chelsea and scored 23 goals and provided 13 assists, including 20 goals and nine assists in the Premier League. The Premier League is tied for first place in the scorer list and Haaland for fourth in the assists list, with 10 assists in front of him. But goals and assists combined, with Palmer and Watkins tied for the top.

After Palmer's fastest Premier League hat-trick and quadruple result, Manchester City were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid.

In fact, the most discussed among Manchester City fans these days is whether Palmer would play better than Grealish if he was still in the team, or would he take the starting position in seat B?

The answer is no.

It's not about Palmer's technical ability, talent, form, but Guardiola's tactics.

Pep Guardiola has also been oscillating between more direct attacks and extreme passing this season.

Why bring in Doku, because Guardiola once wanted to increase the pace of attack, because the speed has increased, and Haaland has more opportunities.

But then he put Doku on the bench, because he found that although Doku's breakthrough was sharp, there were also many mistakes, and Manchester City lost too much of the ball in the front court and was easy to be counterattacked.

So, he went back to the old way, slowly grinding the pass, the so-called extreme passing.

If you compare the way Grealish played during the Villa era with the way City play today, there is a clear difference. The second leg of the Champions League 1/4 finals is the most obvious, Grealish chicks are pecking rice there, but they don't rush Carvajal, and after grinding for a long time, they snap, a return pass.

Pep Guardiola has turned a wild wide breaker into a system player.

Haaland started the season just as bravely as he did last season, suffering from injuries in the middle, and after returning to the sprint to the season, Haaland conceded a lot of chances, but he also got fewer chances before the game. This illustrates the fact that Manchester City are going back to the old ways, and the ultimate passing is not suitable for Haaland.

In a way, if Haaland were to be traded to Liverpool, he might be better suited to that heavy metal rock style.

Palmer, too.

Palmer is quiet on the surface, but he is actually wild on the inside, and he can't play exactly according to Pep Guardiola's extreme passing tactics.

Pep Guardiola himself recently admitted that "Palmer has asked to leave the team for two consecutive seasons".

Palmer entered the first team in the 2019-20 season, made his debut in the 20-21 season, started 1 game in the League Cup, and was substituted for 8 minutes in the Champions League, and gradually increased some substitute opportunities in the 21-22 season, and the real game was played in the 22-23 season, the left winger, right winger, and forward midfielder all played, but except for the end of the season, the previous league was a substitute.

One of the good things about Gua Shuai is that if a player wants to leave, he won't stop him.

Because Guardiola believes in his own system, such as the departure of Manchester City's best player Gundogan last season, Guardiola believes he can find the most suitable replacement.

But it is clear that neither Kovacic nor Nunes are at the level of Gundogan, and the spirited Alvarez now looks to be just a system player.

Foden has played well this season, but there is a lack of rotation and the young Foden is tired, and as a result, his form has also declined when it comes to the key Champions League games.

If Palmer stays at City, Palmer can rotate in three positions with Doku, B and Foden. But if you think about his technical style, maybe he still wants to play a little more aggressively rather than with low-speed control.

And the most important thing is that he stays at Manchester City, and he will only play as a substitute in some leftover games, and Guardiola will not reuse him, and even in the appearance sequence, the importance is not as important as the youngster Lewis.

So, Palmer's departure from Manchester City is the right decision for both parties.

Palmer, who entered Manchester City's academy at the age of seven, certainly has a deep affection for his parent team. It's a sure thing that the goal doesn't celebrate, and he doesn't need to prove anything, he's already at the heart of Chelsea's tactics.

Chelsea and Manchester City have drawn both Premier League games this season, 4-4 at home to Manchester City 1-1, with Palmer starting both games and scoring a goal in the 4-4 game.

With the FA Cup semi-finals meeting at Wembley Stadium tonight, will Palmer lead Chelsea to victory over their former club?

Finally, if Chelsea win a penalty, everyone should give the ball to Palmer and don't fight for it in the future.