Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino says he will not guarantee new signing Cole Palmer or any other player a starting spot for the Blues, a policy he employed even with Lionel Messi at Paris Saint-Germain.
Palmer signed for Chelsea in a £40 million move on deadline day, taking the Blues' summer spending to around £400m in total.
The midfielder was a popular player at Manchester City, but found first-team opportunities few and far between at his boyhood club.
Asked if he could give the 21-year-old assurances of more playing time at Stamford Bridge, Pochettino said: "If someone guarantees to some player to play, OK but that is not the case here.
"The player needs to come and to perform and let us manage and then, if he deserves to play, he will, I am sure that was the same at City. But for us even when you pay big money for a player at Chelsea, it doesn't mean you are guaranteed to play. That's the wrong way to think."
"People need to learn about that. When we sign a player we do it for them to be part of the squad, involved in the squad, be part of the club. Be part of the dynamic. We never sign players who we promise will play.
"It has never happened, even when we signed Messi at Paris Saint-Germain."
Palmer started on the bench as Chelsea took on Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Saturday.
The midfielder, who has represented England at Under-15 through to U-21 level, is one of 12 new players brought in by the west London club this summer.
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