Cole Palmer has scored 23 goals in all competitions this season for Chelsea as he has become one of the best signings of the Premier League. Palmer was sold by Manchester City to Chelsea for $53 million.

Guardiola shrugged when asked whether it was a mistake to let Palmer move but said the 21-year-old wanted to leave the Etihad Stadium long before he joined Chelsea.

"He's an exceptional player," Guardiola told a news conference.

"I said many times, I didn't give the minutes that maybe he deserved and now he has at Chelsea. I understand completely.

"He's a shy guy with a lot of potential. It is what it is. He's playing fantastic so what can I say? The decision has been made for many reasons.

"He was asking for two seasons to leave and I said stay. He said he wanted to leave. What could we do? I said stay because Riyad [Mahrez] is gone, but for two seasons he wanted to leave."

Chelsea will attempt to keep Reece James this summer despite increasing pressure to comply with Premier League and UEFA financial rules. Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are among the clubs to have scouted James.

Chelsea is currently 12th in the Premier League with 10 matches to play.

Chelsea have privately played down the possibility of a failure to comply but the club have spent over £1 billion ($1.2 billion) on new players since the Todd Boehly/Clearlake Capital takeover was completed in May 2022.

Defender Trevoh Chalobah and midfielder Conor Gallagher are two players set to be made available

The agent for Alphonso Davies criticized Bayern Munich for issuing an "ultimatum" over their contract offer.

Davies' contract with Bayern expires at the end of next season, meaning the club could lose him in 2025 without receiving a fee if he decides not to extend.

Davies' agent Nick Huoseh said Bayern's approach was not fair.

"It's unfair that Alphonso is now being attacked," Huoseh said.

"We were close to an agreement a year ago. Then the entire club management was replaced. We didn't hear anything for seven months. Although I tried during this time to contact the club myself.

"Now we are being given an ultimatum and are supposed to react within two weeks because the club is under pressure and took a long time to reposition itself in the management? That's not fair.

"It's a very important contract in Alphonso's career and we're supposed to make the decision without knowing who the coach will be next season or what the team looks like. That's why we think it's unfair to react to the ultimatum."

Real Madrid remain interested in signing Davies, but are unwilling to pay more than $43.5 million to sign him. Davies' preference is to join Madrid. 

Davies has the fourth best WhoScored rating on Bayern this season.

Kalvin Phillips is likely to permanently leave Manchester City this summer. Phillips joined West Ham in January on loan.

Phillips joined City from Leeds in 2022 on a £42 million transfer.

Manchester City has agreed to sign Cavan Sullivan from the Philadelphia Union.

Sullivan is a 14-year-old left-footed midfielder and recently made his professional debut with Philadelphia Union II. Sullivan also received interest from Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. 

Sullivan is left-footed and comes from a soccer family with his older brother, Quinn Sullivan, playing for the first-team of the Philadelphia Union at the age of 19. Sullvan's father, Brendan Sullivan, played professionally, and his mother also played collegiately.

Olivier Giroud is in talks to join LAFC on a transfer from AC Milan this summer.

Giroud's contract expires this summer and has also had talks with other MLS clubs. Giroud's preference is to join LAFC.

LAFC also holds Giroud's discovery rights within MLS, meaning it has priority if he moves to the league. 

Arsenal plan to pursue a striker this summer despite their recent goal surge. 

Arsenal have won all seven Premier League games in 2024 by an aggregate score of 31-3.

"The plans that we have for the summer are very clear," Mikel Arteta told a news conference on Thursday. "They were done almost at the start of the season understanding what we can have, the contract situations with some players, and how we can improve certain areas of the team. This situation doesn't change that."

Arsenal were heavily linked with a move for Ivan Toney ahead of the January window but Brentford valued the 27-year-old at around £80 million ($102 million) and ultimately received no bids.

Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyökeres and Brighton's Evan Ferguson are among the possible alternatives.

Saudi Pro League (SPL) teams are preparing to pursue a number of Premier League players this summer.

Established players like Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Alisson, Raphaël Varane, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Andreas Pereira are on their wish list.

Saudi teams spent $957 million on player acquisition in 2023. In the summer of 2023, SPL transfer spend was second only to the £1.1 billion ($1.39 billion) spent by the Premier League.

Kylian Mbappe is "getting really excited" about his anticipated move to Real Madrid, sources tell ESPN

Mbappe has informed Paris Saint-Germain of his exit and negotiations are ongoing.

Two years ago, when Mbappe decided to stay at PSG and sign a new contract, he insisted on a "2+1 deal" that would allow him to leave should he choose.

"Deep down, everyone knew that it was very likely we would be where we are now," a source tells ESPN.

Kylian Mbappe has informed Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al Khelaifi he intends to leave the club this summer.

Mbappe will be a free agent and is expected to join Real Madrid, but no deal between the sides has been reached. Real Madrid, however, has "total confidence" they will eventually get a deal done.

Mbappe joined PSG from Monaco in 2017.

Mbappe nearly joined Real Madrid in 2022 and has long aspired to play for the club.