Chelsea reach £45m agreement with Man City for Cole Palmer as the England U21 winger prepares to have a medical at Stamford Bridge ahead of shock move

Chelsea have agreed a £45 million deal with Manchester City for Cole Palmer as they prepare to continue their clearout by sending Callum Hudson-Odoi to Nottingham Forest.

Chelsea identified City’s England under-21 star Palmer as an ideal candidate in their search for a striker who can play wide and central and reached a deal after seeing their £35m opening approach knocked back.

City valued Palmer at £50 million, but Chelsea hoped to settle for something lower and reached a compromise for the 21-year-old of an initial fee of £40 million, with a further £5 million in additions.

Palmer was already the subject of summer interest from West Ham and Brighton. And City manager Pep Guardiola admitted earlier this month that Palmer, who has again shown his quality with goals in the Community Shield against Arsenal and the Super Cup against Sevilla, could leave this summer permanently.

Guardiola said: ‘I don’t know (if he will stay). I don’t think there will be a loan. He stays or he is sold.’

Palmer (left) will undergo a medical at Stamford Bridge after a deal was struck with City

Meanwhile, Forest sign a deal for winger Hudson-Odoi, who is surplus to requirements at Chelsea and trains with under-21s.

A possible move to Fulham has yet to materialize for the 22-year-old, but Forest is now his most likely destination with the two clubs in discussions over the structure of the deal yesterday.

A move to the City Ground would see Hudson-Odoi reunite with Steve Cooper, his former England youth manager.

Hudson-Odoi was one of the stars of Cooper’s under-17 side that won the 2017 World Cup in their age group.

He then made his breakthrough at Chelsea, but an Achilles injury in 2019 halted his progress and he is now ready to move on in a bid to jump-start his career.

Hudson-Odoi may not be the only player ahead of tomorrow’s deadline, with Trevoh Chalobah being sought by Bayern Munich and Conor Gallagher in Tottenham’s sights as they look for a central midfielder in the final 48 hours of the period.

Pep Guardiola (pictured) previously admitted he was unsure whether Palmer would stay at City

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.

At the time, Palmer described making his England top bow as ‘a dream come true’, with the Etihad academy star hoping to follow in the footsteps of team-mate Phil Foden.

Mauricio Pochettino was keen to bolster his attack before the transfer window closes on Friday and will be pleased to have secured a deal for the England Under-21 international.

Mauricio Pochettino (right) keen to secure a deal for Palmer (left) before the window closes

Palmer last played in the UEFA Super Cup where he scored City’s only goal in 90 minutes and was named player of the match.

Riyad Mahrez’s summer departure to Saudi Arabia was meant to give Palmer more starting chances, but he has played just 10 minutes in the Premier League so far this season.

Asked about Palmer after Chelsea’s Carabao Cup second round victory on Wednesday night, Pochettino said: “I don’t know anything at the moment.

“I can’t talk about players who don’t belong to us. What I can say is nothing at this point. The club didn’t tell me. I don’t want to talk about a player who still hasn’t signed.’

When asked if Chelsea would make any further signings before the period closes, he added: “Maybe, maybe not. Maybe you know better than I what’s going on.’

Palmer follows in the footsteps of Raheem Sterling, who put time into his Etihad career to join Todd Boehly’s revolution at Stamford Bridge.