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• Pep Guardiola says Cole Palmer is one of the players of the season

  Pep Guardiola admits Chelsea’s former Manchester City starlet Cole Palmer has been one of the players of the season.

  The City manager has also revealed the 21-year-old England midfielder had been trying to leave the Etihad Stadium for two years prior to his £42.5million switch to Stamford Bridge last summer.

  Palmer, who was considered one of City’s brightest Academy products, has been Chelsea’s most influential performer since he moved south in search of more first-team opportunities.

  Palmer has scored 25 goals this season, 11 of which have come in his last six appearances.

  He heads into Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final showdown with former club City at Wembley fresh from a four-goal salvo against Everton on Monday.

  Guardiola said: “Cole has been the decisive player, maybe of the season, in many aspects.

  “He’s an exceptional player. We knew that when he was here.

  “We know how he’s proving (himself), but he has had a lot of minutes. I said many times, I didn’t give him the minutes when maybe he deserved it. He wanted the minutes he now has at Chelsea.

  “I understand completely. I’m happy for him because he’s a lovely guy, a shy guy. He has an incredible potential, otherwise he would not have been here.

  “He’s playing good. He’s an incredible threat. He’s playing fantastically.”

  Palmer was a member of the City squad that won the treble last season and he began the current campaign strongly with goals for Guardiola’s side in the Community Shield and European Super Cup.

  Yet despite attempts to persuade the Wythenshawe-born player to stay with his hometown club, his mind to move on before the end of the summer transfer window had long been made up.

  Guardiola said: “So what can I say? The decision has been made for many reasons. He was asking for two seasons to leave.

  “I said, ‘No, stay’. At the end, (he said), ‘No, I want to leave’. What can we do? I said in pre-season, ‘Stay because Riyad (Mahrez) has gone’. He said, ‘No, I want to leave’.

  “After two seasons, what can you say? So go there. Playing at that level is exceptional. Everybody knows it.”

  City’s hopes of winning a second successive treble were dashed on Wednesday as they suffered an agonising penalty shoot-out defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.

  Their focus is now on defending the domestic double, a feat no side has previously achieved, but Guardiola prefers not to view the targets in those terms.

  Guardiola said: “We were close again (to the treble) but it didn’t happen.

  “So my advice about trebles or doubles or these things is, why are we not focused on Chelsea? It’s enough of a target to think about.

  “When you have one or two games left to the end of the Premier League and you are already in the FA Cup final, I can answer you perfectly.

  “We’ve felt, two times, how strong Chelsea are. They are really, really difficult.

  “So, win that game and see what happens the next three, four, five games in the Premier League and after we will see.”

• Raith Rovers keep unlikely title bid alive with narrow victory at Inverness

  Raith Rovers rode their luck to keep alive their slender cinch Championship title hopes with a smash-and-grab 1-0 win at third-bottom Inverness.

  Caley Thistle, looking for a third successive win to further boost their survival push, hit the goal frame four times and saw visiting goalkeeper Kevin Dabrowski produce a host of stunning saves.

  But in the end it was Lewis Vaughan’s 49th-minute strike that settled the contest as Raith, who could have seen leaders Dundee United win the league on Saturday if they had lost at Caledonian Stadium, close the gap on the pacesetters to three points.

  Duncan Ferguson’s Inverness created several good chances to take the lead in a one-sided first half, with Dabrowski keeping out Cammy Harper’s 25-yard free-kick before Alex Samuel was denied by a goalline block.

  The hosts came even closer in the 21st minute when Harper fired against the bar and then saw Dabrowski fling up a leg and somehow manage to block his follow-up.

  Rovers had done little to prove they were the team at the top end of the able in the first half but four minutes after the restart they took the lead, top scorer Vaughan getting on the end of a flick-on to coolly guide the ball past Mark Ridgers.

  That proved to be the game’s decisive moment as the Raith goal continued to lead a charmed life, Samuel seeing a curling shot come back off the far post and the brilliant Dabrowski turned over a shot from the same player.

  Inverness then hit the crossbar twice in quick succession, Danny Devine and James Carragher seeing headers come back off the goal frame, before Dabrowski tipped over a stoppage-time effort as Raith somehow held on for the three points.

• Former Wales winger Leighton James dies, aged 71

  Former Wales winger Leighton James has died at the age of 71.

  James’ former clubs Burnley and Swansea – where he spent 13 years of a colourful 19-year senior career – were among those to pay tribute to a gifted player who won 54 caps for his country.

  “We are sorry to hear the news of Leighton’s passing,” Burnley chairman Alan Pace said of James, who had three spells at Turf Moor and scored 81 goals in 399 appearances for the Clarets.

  “He left an indelible mark on this football club and stories of his playing skills still echo around Turf Moor.

  “Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”

  Swansea-born James made his Burnley debut in 1970 – his pace and trickery quickly making him a Clarets’ favourite – before joining Derby for a then club-record fee of £310,000 and having a one-season stop at QPR.

  James returned to Burnley in 1978 before joining his hometown club two years later and helping their rise in to the old First Division under John Toshack.

  “Swansea City is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Leighton James at the age of 71,” read a club statement.

  “The gifted winger, widely-regarded as one of the Swans’ finest players, was a key figure in the side that secured a first-ever promotion to the top-flight in 1981, scoring a stunning goal in the victory over Preston North End at Deepdale to complete the club’s rise.

  “He went on to star the following campaign as John Toshack’s side took the fight to the elite of English football, eventually finishing sixth in the First Division.

  “The thoughts of everyone at Swansea City are with Leighton’s friends and family at this sad time.”

  After three years at Swansea, James went on to play for Sunderland, Bury and Newport before taking his career full circle with a third spell at Burnley.

  James’ 10 international goals included the match-winning penalty against England in the 1976-77 British Home Championship – Wales’ only ever victory against their neighbours at Wembley.

  The Football Association of Wales posted on X: “It is with great sadness that we share the news that @Cymru international Leighton James has sadly passed away.

  “Amongst his most famous moments with the dragon on his shirt was scoring a penalty in a famous win over England at Wembley in 1977.

  “He was a star of the only Cymru team to top a qualifying group before going on to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 1976.”

  James held various coaching positions in South Wales after his playing career and worked in the media, where he developed a reputation as a forthright columnist and pundit.

  Both Burnley and Swansea have confirmed they will wear black armbands in their respective matches against Sheffield United and Huddersfield on Saturday as a tribute to James.