Cole Palmer will aim to show Manchester City what they are missing on his return to the Etihad Stadium this Saturday, adding Mauricio Pochettino’s unwavering support is allowing him to thrive after leaving his boyhood club in search of minutes.

Palmer joined Chelsea in a £40million move in the summer and his two stoppage-time assists aided Monday’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. That was Palmer’s 20th Premier League appearance for Chelsea – surpassing his total of 19 for City, most of which were made as a substitute.

It was the 21-year-old England international’s penalty which secured the point in Chelsea’s 4-4 draw with City in November’s reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge, and Palmer is bidding to have a big say in another classic this weekend.

‘When I first came in, he put his arm around me and gave me the freedom and confidence to go out there and play and I’m enjoying it. I came to Chelsea to get minutes and play week in, week out because obviously at City that wasn’t happening. I came here to get an opportunity. I need to keep going and go up some more levels.’

Cole Palmer (right) can’t wait to return to Manchester City for the first time as an opponent

Palmer has enjoyed a breakthrough season at Chelsea since joining the club in the summer

Palmer played in the Community Shield for City last August before later joining Chelsea

On whether Saturday will be his chance to show City why they were wrong to let him leave, Palmer said: ‘I try to do that every game, so we’ll see. It will be a tough game. 

‘But I am looking forward to going back. It will be strange and weird, but I’m looking forward to it and the team is.’

Since losing 4-2 at home to Wolves, Chelsea have beaten Aston Villa in the FA Cup and Palace in the Premier League. 

It has alleviated the pressure on Pochettino’s position, with Palmer insisting that he and his team-mates are totally behind their boss amid all the outside noise.

Palmer has given his backing to boss Mauricio Pochettino for allowing him to express himself

‘There’s always going to be a lot of talk,’ Palmer said. ‘You know what football fans are like and rightly so. Chelsea is a big club and we’ve seen them win many things for a long time. If we’re not getting results, they are going to be on to us.

‘But you’ve seen in the last two games that we are trying to stick together through our development as a team and keep going. Everyone is going to talk if you’re not doing well. We just need to try and block it out, and focus on ourselves.’