Pep Guardiola comments on Cole Palmer's success at Chelsea

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said that he could not keep Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer due to his desire to leave the club.

The playmaker barely played for the Cityzens during his two seasons with the first-team and he eventually made the move to the Blues last summer.

Palmer has since been a revelation with 25 goals and 13 assists from just 41 games. When asked about Palmer's exceptional start at Chelsea, Guardiola said:

"He was asking for two seasons to leave Man City. I said: stay. He wanted to leave. What can we do?!"

"He’s an exceptional player with super potential. I didn't give him the minutes he deserves that he now has at Chelsea."

The Blues face City in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday and they will be aiming to surprise them with a victory at the Wembley Stadium.

They came close to doing so at the Etihad earlier this year. They held onto a 1-0 lead for 40 minutes before Rodri scored a late deflected equaliser.