Raheem Sterling knew Cole Palmer was a "different level" to Phil Foden from his time at Manchester City, reveals Chelsea defender

Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling. (Deposit Photos)

Raheem Sterling is a player who knows Cole Palmer and Phil Foden very well.

Sterling played alongside both players during his time at Manchester City, and also shared the pitch with Palmer at Chelsea last season.

At City, Foden, who is two years Palmer's senior, was preferred by manager Pep Guardiola, with the Spaniard letting Palmer leave for Chelsea last summer. In the season following the move, both players shone, with Palmer winning PFA Young Player of the Year and Foden winning PFA Player of the Year.

Since the 2024 European Championships, however, Foden's performances have dropped significantly, while Palmer has gone from strength to strength. This term, Palmer has 12 goals to Foden's four, while he also has triple the amount of assists.

Cole Palmer has been a revelation for Chelsea. (Deposit Photos)

In a recent interview with Sky Sports, Chelsea's Tosin Adarabioyo, who was also once on City’s books, shared details of an interesting conversation he once had with Sterling about the two players.

“I remember having a conversation with Raz years ago whilst Raz was still at City and we were just speaking obviously about Phil and all the other younger players and then he said, ‘Cole is the truth,'" recalled the defender.

"I was like, ‘Wow, really?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, that kid in and around the box, he’s a different level,'" he added.

On his own memories of Palmer from their time together at City's academy, Adarabioyo said: "He was really small! I'm not sure when he got his growth spurt, but I just remember a little, small blonde kid, just being a cheeky guy, being around the the academy and giving cheek to the older players."

Tosin Adarabioyo came through Manchester City's academy.

Palmer hasn't lost his cheeky side as he's gotten older.

Since moving to Stamford Bridge, the 22-year-old has developed a reputation for giving amusing post-match interviews.

In one such interview, he revealed that he only knew of Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola from the video game series EAFC, previously known as FIFA.

“I know he is an icon on FIFA so he must have been good," Palmer said.

In light of the comment, the two met up at Chelsea's training ground for a "Masterclass" video on the Premier League’s official YouTube channel, where they took turns trying to score free-kicks and discussed their respective Chelsea careers.

At the end of the video, Zola asked Palmer if he would pick him in his team the next time he plays EAFC.

Palmer replied with a big laugh: "Yeah, for the bench!"