"No doubt" - Enzo Maresca defends Man City over Cole Palmer's exit as Chelsea stance made clear | OneFootball

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has defended Manchester City's decision to let Cole Palmer leave and join the Blues last season.

Maresca, who acted as one of Pep Guardiola's assistants during his time at City, also left the Etihad last summer as he departed for Leicester before joining Chelsea this year.

Weeks after Maresca's departure, Palmer was making his impact on City's first team as he scored in the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup for the Citizens.

However, come the end of the transfer window Palmer found himself playing in a different shade of blue as Chelsea acted quick to sign him.

Man City have stood firm on their decision, with boss Guardiola previously admitting that they made the right choice to let Palmer leave.

Now, after being reunited with Palmer, a star of his Man City development side, Maresca has jumped to the defence of his former employees.

Maresca and Palmer both made the decision to leave Man City to become the main men and have reunited at Chelsea. / IMAGO / PRiME Media Images

"Everyone at City, they knew how good Cole is," Maresca told TNT Sports. "The only problem is that having so many players there, it's difficult to give all of them minutes, so no one at City thought that Cole was not good enough, no doubt."

Maresca continued to heap praise on Palmer for how well he adapted to life at Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino before Maresca joined the club.

He continued: "The transition, I said, the good thing for him is that he is today exactly in the same way he was three years ago with the under-23 or two years ago with City. He didn't change.

"He's always the same humble guy, professional. Every time we start the session, he's the first outside playing with the ball. He's like a kid. He loves to play football."

The pair will be hoping that they can continue to impress at Chelsea, who sit third in the Premier League after beating Leicester City, Maresca's former side, 2-1 at the King Power Stadium.

With Guardiola extending his stay at the Etihad in recent days, Maresca and Palmer will be keen to show the Spaniard what he is missing out on as the pair swapped Manchester for London.