Report: Borussia Dortmund Linked to Manchester City’s Cole Palmer

While the much-anticipated Bundesliga is starting this weekend, Borussia Dortmund are still active in the transfer market. The latest rumor, as reported by Sport1’s Patrick Berger, is that Borussia Dortmund are holding talks with Manchester City over 21-year-old wonderkid, Cole Palmer.

The left-footed winger has recently found himself in the limelight after helping England win the U21 Euros this past offseason. Across four games, Palmer managed one goal and three assists including being involved in all three goals against Israel in the quarterfinals. More recently, Palmer was Manchester City’s Man of the Match against Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup and scored a wonderful goal in the 63^rd minute.

Palmer is very different from the other wide players at Dortmund’s disposal. He fits Edin Terzic’s profile of a very physical player, standing at 6’2’’. Palmer would be the tallest player in Dortmund’s attacking lineup (Including Sébastien Haller) and he has the pace to match his lanky figure. He’s terrific with the ball at his feet and is not afraid to dribble or take a shot on goal. Additionally, Palmer can play in various positions, having featured as a left winger for England, a right midfielder for Manchester City, and spent time as an attacking midfielder for both teams. With Palmer, there is a lot of promise for Borussia Dortmund.

There are two problems with this deal, however. The first one is his price tag. Despite being young, he is a homegrown English U-21 international who is finding his form during the transfer window. While he only has one year on his deal and Pep Guardiola has alluded to selling him, there’s bound to be Premier League interest in him. Dortmund need to be willing to shell out substantial money despite Palmer not having played more than 600 minutes of first-team football.

The second problem revolves around how likely Palmer is to stay at Manchester City. Youth prospects are known to leave Manchester City due to the competition within the squad and Dortmund are a known benefactor of this trend, with Jadon Sancho, Felix Nmecha, and Jayden Braaf all having played some time in the City’s youth setup. Despite this, Manchester City’s creative options have dwindled over the past couple of seasons. With Mahrez leaving, Kevin De Bruyne out until August, and no ‘true’ winger on the books, it does look like Palmer would get some playtime over the next few months, especially with City’s heavy schedule. The coming weeks will reveal whether Palmer decides to extend his contract as he has only one year left.

Your Thoughts

So, let me know your thoughts in the comments. Is this deal even possible? Would you want Palmer? How do you see him fitting in?