Monday, November 2, 2020, at St George’s Park in Burton-on-Trent: Manchester City and Chelsea are locked at 2-2 in the FA Youth Cup final, with the clock ticking towards the 83rd minute. Morgan Rogers has already made his mark for City, steering in a neat finish after Liam Delap cut a low cross back into his path.
Moments later, Delap bursts in behind the Chelsea defence and lets fly. His effort bobbles past Levi Colwill and drifts towards the far post, where Cole Palmer is perfectly placed to turn it home. City lead 3-2, and at the FA’s national football centre, that proves decisive: Manchester City are champions, Chelsea are beaten.
Few watching that night could have imagined the Chelsea thread that would run through this City youth side almost six years on, with Rogers now signing for £117million — the highest fee ever paid for a British player.
Back then, Palmer’s winning goal for Carlos Vicens’ academy team carried a deeper meaning. As he celebrated, he lifted his shirt to reveal a tribute to Jeremy Wisten, his former City team-mate who had died by suicide just nine days earlier.
Young players grow close while chasing the same dream, and nobody can know what the future might have held for Wisten, a teenager who had struggled after being released by City. Palmer’s ‘GBNF’ — Gone But Never Forgotten — undershirt was a moving way to ensure his late friend was part of City’s first FA Youth Cup success since 2008.
Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers have been friends and team-mates since their days in Man City’s academy
The pair share a celebration but Rogers’ £117m move to Chelsea will also see them share the pitch for the first time in nearly six years
Rewatching that final now, one detail stands out: every City goal involved a player who is now on Chelsea’s books. For the opener, Delap kept Chelsea’s centre backs occupied while Palmer threaded a pass beyond Colwill, allowing an unmarked James McAtee to finish.
For their second, Colwill was marking Palmer as Delap crossed and Rogers scored.
For their third, Delap’s saved shot crept to Palmer to complete the 3-2 scoreline, with Colwill smashing the ball into the back of the net in frustration while City celebrated. Now they are all set to be team-mates at Stamford Bridge moving forward in a case of graduates reunited. Once City’s next generation. Suddenly Chelsea’s future.
With Rogers and Palmer in particular, this £117m move from Aston Villa rekindles a friendship, it being no secret that the two are close. They have described each other as best friends in football. They are on WhatsApp and FaceTime almost daily, as we all are with our own pals. Both believed in what the other was capable of achieving back when they were with City, and so for them personally, it is rather nice that they are teaming up again at Chelsea.
While away with England, Rogers’ team-mates liked jesting on the ownership of his celebration. Jude Bellingham was asked during one interview whose was better: his or Rogers’. Sitting next to Rogers, Bellingham pondered and said: ‘Mine or Cole’s?’ Chelsea’s content team will be buzzing with ideas for how they can play on this ‘Cold’ competition.
Rogers did it first while playing for Middlesbrough, but technically, Palmer owns it. He has it trademarked with the UK Intellectual Property Office for commercial reasons. It entered the register in November 2025, and is not due for renewal until November 2034.
Palmer debuted it in a 3-2 win away at Luton in December 2023 and has since told reporters that he did it as ‘a nod’ to Rogers. They’re mates, so Rogers does not mind too much that he pinched it from him. From Chelsea’s perspective, they will hope they can score enough goals between them to take turns and share it amicably.
Palmer may have seen this move coming. Before the end of the last season, several Chelsea players held talks with the club’s owners and directors, Palmer included. It was at a time when he was being linked to Manchester United despite Chelsea sources tagging him as one of their untouchable assets. Assurances were made, and also to Reece James when the captain signed his new contract through to 2032. Palmer spoke at length with James about what he was told.
Chelsea has kept a close eye on Rogers since he was at Middlesborough (pictured in 2024)
Palmer celebrated his friend’s signing with a touching Instagram post documenting their bond
Chelsea promised they were now going to recruit ‘ready-made’ signings this summer. Missing out on Champions League football – or any form of European qualification for that matter – was a complication. But they have spent big to beat Arsenal to the signing of Rogers. He meets that ‘ready-made’ criteria. James is said to have been pleading his club’s case while they were both away at this summer’s World Cup.
Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso had his first behind-closed-doors friendly at the weekend, with Daily Mail Sport revealing the scoreline was 3-1 and the scorers were Delap, Jamie Gittens and Emmanuel Emegha. One source also told us they used a 4-2-3-1 formation. One solution would be Palmer at No 10 and Rogers on the left, or Rogers at No 10 and Palmer on the right. If Alonso uses a 3-4-2-1, both could feature behind Joao Pedro as the starting striker.
Their versatility gives Alonso options, and while Rogers has been a long-term target for Chelsea, the 44-year-old Spaniard very much sanctioned this transfer after arriving. We can sometimes suspect it is hot air when a new manager is telling us how he is on the same page as those above him, but in this particular case, it is true.
Rogers will be due some downtime after his World Cup exploits with England, three weeks being the usual break. That means he may miss their pre-season tour of Australia and Asia. Whenever he rocks up, coldness could ensue. Certainly, after spending £117m to bring the boys back together, Chelsea hope it will be positively Siberian.
