CHELSEA have agreed a £45million deal for Manchester City forward Cole Palmer, according to reports.
The Blues have exceeded £300million in spending for the third transfer window in a row.
Cole Palmer is closing in on a move to Chelsea from Manchester CityGetty
Todd Boehly has spent an extraordinary amount of money since arriving at ChelseaRex
And, including add-ons, the Palmer deal means they have now surpassed the £1billion mark since Todd Boehly took over last year.
The 21-year-old, who looks set to become the latest addition to Mauricio Pochettino‘s squad, won the age group Euros with England in the summer.
According to The Times, Chelsea have reached an agreement with Man City for the Wythenshawe-born player.
They go on to state the Blues are “close” to completing the signing.
Palmer scored the opening goal in Man City’s Community Shield defeat to Arsenal earlier this month, before he also netted in their Super Cup win over Sevilla.
But he has managed just 10 minutes of action in their first three Premier League games – with that cameo coming off the bench in a 3-0 victory over Burnley.
Palmer has registered six goals and two assists in 41 games for Man City.
He featured 25 times for Pep Guardiola‘s Treble winners last season.
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However, just seven of those came as a starter as he has been forced to play a bit-part role in City’s successes.
Brighton saw a £30m bid for Palmer rejected.
Earlier in the window, Guardiola spoke about the young attacker, saying: “I don’t know [if he will stay]. When we arrived I had the opinion that he wanted to leave but now I don’t know.
“I don’t think a loan is going to happen. He’s going to stay or he’s going to be sold.”
Meanwhile, Pochettino has further bolstered his attacking options following injuries to Christopher Nkunku and Carney Chukwuemeka.
Boehly has already splashed the cash on several signings this summer including Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Axel Disasi, Nicolas Jackson, Robert Sanchez and Lesley Ugochukwu.
Chelsea have also been linked with a move for Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe.