Cole Palmer's behaviour in Man City tunnel that would leave Roy Keane infuriated

17 February 2024 , 18:19

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Cole Palmer was greeted by several former teammates ahead of Chelsea's match with Manchester City (Image: Sky Sports)

Cole Palmer was all smiles on his return to Manchester City ahead of their Premier League showdown with the midfielder's current club, Chelsea.

Palmer, 21, came through the City academy and spent over a decade at the club before joining Chelsea in the summer transfer window. He's been a revelation since swapping City for the Blues, amassing 14 goals and nine assists across 31 appearances for Mauricio Pochettino's team.

Unsurprisingly, Palmer featured from the start for Chelsea in Saturday evening's mouthwatering match between the Londoners and the Premier League champions and he was greeted by plenty of his former teammates in the tunnel.

Several City players, including Rodri, Kyle Walker and Erling Haaland, all shook hands with Palmer, who was more than happy to interact in such a fashion. Other Premier League stars have been blasted for similar actions, though.

Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane has perhaps been the most outspoken figure in the game on pre-match interactions between players. The former Manchester United captain was a fierce competitor during his playing career and was involved in some major flashpoints in big matches.

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Unsurprisingly, he was less than impressed back in September when Andre Onana and Aaron Ramsdale were seen embracing in the tunnel ahead of Manchester United's meeting with Arsenal.

Keane, who was analysing the match for Sky Sports, bemoaned the fact that players act far differently nowadays, saying at the time: "You were going to war, you were going to battle. That was what it was about.

Join the debate! Do you think Man City regret letting Palmer go? Let us know here.

Roy Keane has previously been critical of players embracing in the tunnel before a match (Sky Sports)

"I am looking at the tunnel there, everyone thinks I am old school but I don't know why you'd be chatting to people you are just about to go into battle against. You are going to be kicking lumps out of each other. Why are you shaking hands? I'd shake hands after the game but not before the battle."

Palmer made 41 appearances in total under Pep Guardiola but was far from a regular under the Spaniard. The Manchester City chief explained that he gave Palmer his blessing to move on ahead of their reunion at the Etihad.

Guardiola said: "For young players, we always want them to stay but this is normal. After two or three seasons he wanted more minutes than he had the last season. I understand completely.

"If Palmer had the minutes I gave to Phil (Foden) from the beginning, Cole Palmer would be here – but I didn’t give them to him. That is my responsibility." He added: "It’s normal. We understand as a club. We got an offer from an incredible top club like Chelsea and I’m really happy for him. In all clubs these types of things happen."

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Dan Marsh