"Chelsea's decision to spend $54 million on Cole Palmer, a 21-year-old with three Premier League starts, strikes me as strange and extremely bold," wrote ex-Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness in his Daily Mail column.

"It might all come together for Chelsea, who are spending a fortune on players of enormous potential who one day, with a big question mark attached, might be top men for them.

"Their supporters, like all others, want instant success. After a miserable season, they will have limited patience and won't be slow in venting their frustration.

"I can see where they're coming from."

Souness was far from alone in this criticism, the young man from Manchester, it was pretty widely felt, was overpriced.

But just a few months on from the transfer the narrative around Palmer has shifted.

As the Blues romped to a 1-4 win at Burnley before the international break, it was Palmer who capped a classy performance with a goal from the spot.

He followed this with another impressive display in the following game against Arsenal, a match where he also converted from a penalty.

That goal was all the more impressive as he was under additional internal pressure to score by the fact teammate Raheem Sterling had tried to supplant him as the kicktaker.

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"He's getting more pressure from his teammates but he does really well," reflected ex-Chelsea legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

"Penalty taking is not easy when the referee blows his whistle he waits he calms everyone down and he breaks the momentum of the goalkeeper and then he takes it.

"For me, that is confidence, that for me is having something having some arrogance but that's allowed."

Hasselbaink's TV colleague Jamie Redknapp was even more effusive about Palmer's display stating that "he looked like their classiest player."

In the end, the youngster's performance was overshadowed by Arsenal's recovery to earn a 2-2 draw, but manager Mauricio Pocchetino still singled out Palmer for praise.

'I am so happy with the performances of Palmer and [Conor] Gallagher," he said post-game.

"We needed to change the shape and the strategy to attack. We tried to have superiority in the middle with Palmer and Conor Gallagher stopping the center-backs having a reference and getting them into the midfield zone. And then using Sterling and Mudryk for the one-v-ones."

The Chelsea boss rates the ex-Manchester City player having described him, after the Burnley game, as a "good link player" who had the right type of "unpredictability."

So why did the Treble winners let such a promising player depart?

Having let both Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling depart, the club did not bring in any replacements.

It was noted by more than a few outside observers that this left Palmer as one of the two understudies for the wide forward positions.

However, despite the season appearing to promise greater opportunity for the youngster, he was used mainly as a late substitute.

Guardiola preferred the experience of midfielder Bernardo Silva in the right-wing spot Palmer normally occupies and he found himself further down the pecking order than expected.

More concerning than his lack of game time was the demeanor he played with when called upon.

The confidence that defined his exciting introduction to English soccer in the 2021/22 campaign, and his early career at Chelsea, was replaced with anxiety.

He often looked like he was trying too hard, taking it past a player and trying to beat another rather than releasing the ball.

Over the summer, however, things shifted both for Palmer and City.

Buoyed by an impressive display in the European Championship-winning England under-21s team he returned to Manchester looking more of the player who had the potential to establish himself in the first team.

He scored in consecutive games at the start of the season versus Arsenal in the Community Shield and against Sevilla in the European Super Cup.

Somehow these displays did little to silence talk of a move.

"Obviously the best scenario is to stay at City and play," Palmer said after the Super Cup win. "But obviously you know what the competition is like if they bring someone in."

Manager Pep Guardiola wasn't convinced by the youngster and offered little assurance when asked of his departure.

"I don't know what's going to happen," said the Manchester City coach "I don't think a loan is going to happen. He's going to stay or we're going to sell,"

Talk at that stage was of a move to Brighton and Hove Albion or Borussia Dortmund, but there were few signs of progress.

Only when Chelsea made a late bid did things accelerate. Palmer was enthused by the chance to join another elite Premier League outfit and the Blues were ready to offer a sizeable fee.

But with each passing impressive performance that transfer looks more of a steal, continue on this trajectory and he'll soon be making the Mancunians look foolish.

The difference for him in London appears to be the trust and belief that he never really got at City.

Being able to start important games, given the responsibility of taking penalties, it is bringing the best out of Palmer.

That will sadden and frustrate City fans, but perhaps the belief shown by Chelsea to pay the price it did was the catalyst for the improvement that followed.