David Moyes reveals West Ham were ‘close’ to signing Cole Palmer before Chelsea move

David Moyes recently talked about how close West Ham was to signing Cole Palmer last summer. He hinted that West Ham’s failure to secure Palmer might have been linked to Lucas Paqueta’s move to Manchester City falling through. West Ham was in discussions to sign Palmer when it became clear he was leaving City. However, Chelsea ended up getting him, and Palmer has been doing great there, scoring 20 goals in the Premier League this season.

At the same time, City was close to sealing an £80 million deal for Paqueta. But they backed out when they found out that the FA was looking into Paqueta for possible betting violations.

Moyes, the manager of West Ham, mentioned that things could’ve turned out differently last summer. He said they were close to getting Palmer, but something changed at the last minute, and they couldn’t make it happen.

Palmer had shown promise at City, but he wanted more playing time. Even though people expected him to do well, his performance this season has exceeded expectations. He’s almost matched Erling Haaland’s goal count, and he’s in the running for a spot in the Euro 2024 squad, competing with West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen, who ironically plays the same position.

Moyes had been keeping an eye on Palmer during his time with England’s U21 team. He wanted to bring in British players, but the main issue was that Palmer and Bowen played in similar positions. Moyes had considered moving Bowen to a different role, and he received advice from Lee Carsley, an ex-player and the England U21 manager, who spoke highly of Palmer’s abilities.

In the end, Palmer has been outstanding for Chelsea this year, proving himself in multiple positions on the field.