Chelsea CONFIRM the £42.5m signing of Cole Palmer from Man City… as the winger pens a SEVEN-YEAR deal to become the latest arrival at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Cole Palmer from Manchester City.

The attacking midfielder has signed a contract worth up to £42.5 million and has signed a seven-year deal, including an option for a further year.

Chelsea will initially pay £40 million, with the rest of the package for 21-year-old Palmer being add-ons.

“I’m excited to get started and it feels great to draw,” said Palmer. “I joined Chelsea because the project sounds good here and because of the platform I will have to try and show my talents.

“It’s a young and hungry team and hopefully we can do something special here.”

Palmer (left) will be the latest signing at Stamford Bridge under new boss Mauricio Pochettino

Palmer was keen to secure more regular first-team opportunities after seeing his playing time at the Etihad limited. He has been told he will be deployed on the right side of the Chelsea attack and number ten.

The Blues intend to deploy him in a similar role to Phil Foden’s at City, in a bid to get the best out of the Palmer given his clear potential.

City initially valued their academy talent at £50 million, but Chelsea reached a compromise for Palmer with a £40 million fee and a further £2.5 million in extras accepted by the reigning English champions.

Palmer broke through in the City league table, making his first-team debut three years ago, coming off the bench in a 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Burnley.

More cup games followed before he played for the first time in the Premier League against Norwich in March last year.

Palmer scored a fantastic goal in the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal and played a part in City’s UEFA Super Cup final victory over Sevilla.

The youngster follows in the footsteps of Raheem Sterling, who retired from his Etihad career to join Todd Boehly’s revolution at Stamford Bridge.

“Raz has always taken care of me, so I appreciate him,” Palmer added.

“He was one when I came through at Manchester City and he put his arm around me. That was great for me, for someone with his heritage and international experience to do that.

“He saw the potential I had. He saw what I did in training. We started talking some more. I asked him questions all the time and we always kept in touch from there.

“I’ve played games with him a few times, not many, and now I’ve developed my game a bit, hopefully we can do good things together.”

He leaves Guardiola’s star-studded side after making 41 appearances for City, scoring six goals and registering two assists.