Cole Palmer

Cole Jermaine Palmer (born 6 May 2002) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for club Chelsea and the England national team. He is considered one of the best young players in Europe.

An academy graduate of Manchester City, Palmer made his senior debut for the club in 2020, and was later part of their squad that won a continental treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in 2023. He signed for Chelsea in 2023 for a fee of £40 million. That season, he scored 22 goals and assisted 17, earning him the club's Player of the Season as well as Premier League Young Player of the Season.

Palmer has represented England across various youth levels, including winning the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, before making his senior debut in the same year.

Early and personal life
Cole Jermaine Palmer was born on 6 May 2002 in Wythenshawe, Manchester. He grew up in Wythenshawe with one sister, raised by a dental engineer father and a dyslexia assessor mother. Palmer's father played Sunday league football for nearly two decades, and Palmer regularly watched him. Palmer was privately educated at St Bede's College in partnership with Manchester City Academy.

Palmer is of Afro-Kittitian descent on his father's side of the family. His grandfather emigrated in 1960, while his great-grandparents were part of the Windrush generation, migrating five years earlier. Palmer emblazoned his boots with the flag of England and the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Early career
Despite being a Manchester United fan, Palmer joined Manchester City at under-eight level and progressed through the Academy age groups before captaining the under-18s during the 2019–20 season. He had faced concerns from the age of 14 that his physique was too slight for professional football, and academy coaches wanted to release him at 16, but academy director Jason Wilcox rejected their decision.

Manchester City
On 30 September 2020, Palmer made his first-team debut for City in a 3–0 away win over Burnley in the fourth round of the EFL Cup. He scored his first goal on 21 September 2021 in a 6–1 home win over League One team Wycombe Wanderers in the EFL Cup. On 16 October, Palmer made an appearance in the Premier League against Burnley, and found himself playing and scoring a hat-trick for City's under-23 side that same night. On 19 October, Palmer scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 5–1 away win over Club Brugge. On 7 January 2022, Palmer scored on his FA Cup debut in a 4–1 away win over League Two team Swindon Town.

On 6 August 2023, Palmer scored the first goal in the 2023 FA Community Shield against Arsenal, after coming on for Erling Haaland as a second-half substitute. However, Arsenal scored in stoppage time and eventually won the match in a penalty shoot-out. Ten days later, Palmer scored his final goal for Manchester City, which was an equaliser in the 2023 UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla, which Manchester City won 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out after the match finished 1–1.

Chelsea
On 1 September, Palmer signed for Premier League club Chelsea on a seven-year contract, with the option of a further year. The transfer fee was reported to be an initial £40 million, potentially rising by £2.5 million in add-ons. He made his debut the following day as a 62nd-minute substitute in a 1–0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest. On 7 October, Palmer scored his first goal for Chelsea, from a penalty kick, while also providing the assist for Nicolas Jackson's goal in a 4–1 away victory over Burnley. On 6 November, Palmer registered a goal and an assist in a 4–1 away win at London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Six days later, Palmer scored a stoppage-time penalty against former club Manchester City, as the two teams played out a 4–4 draw at Stamford Bridge.

In Chelsea's final match of 2023, away to Luton Town, Palmer scored twice for the first time professionally, while also assisting Noni Madueke's goal, as Chelsea won 3–2. As a result of his performances during December, which included four goals and two assists, Palmer was nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award, and his second goal against Luton Town was nominated for Premier League Goal of the Month. On 23 January 2024, Palmer scored another brace, this time in the EFL Cup semi-finals, as Chelsea defeated Middlesbrough 6–1 (6–2 on aggregate) to advance to the final at Wembley Stadium. He scored his tenth league goal of the season on 4 February, making him the first Chelsea player aged 21 or under to score 10 Premier League goals in a season, however, this ended in a 4–2 home defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers. On 29 February, Palmer was named the Men's Young Player of the Year at the 2024 London Football Awards. By assisting Axel Disasi's goal against Brentford on 2 March, Palmer became the Chelsea player with the most goal contributions in a season aged 21 or younger, overtaking Arjen Robben's tally of 16 contributions in 2004–05.

On 4 April, Palmer was nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award a second time after more impressive displays throughout March that saw him score three goals and provide two assists. Later that day, he scored his first career hat-trick, which included two goals scored deep into added time to complete Chelsea's comeback in a 4–3 home victory against Manchester United. By doing so, Palmer became the 200th different player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick, as well as the third youngest to do so in a match against Manchester United. Palmer's performance in this match enabled him to become the third ever recipient of the Premier League Game Changer of the Season award. On 15 April, Palmer scored his second career hat-trick against Everton in a 6–0 home win, finishing the match with 4 goals and thus became the 31st Premier League player to score 4 or more goals in a league game, and the first Chelsea player to score two Premier League hat-tricks for the club in a season. Furthermore, he became the third player in the club's history to score at least 20 goals in his debut season, following Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in 2000–01 and Diego Costa in 2014–15.

On 5 May, Palmer scored during a 5–0 home victory against West Ham United, becoming only the third player in Premier League history aged 21 or younger to contribute to 30 or more goals in a single season. Palmer was then named Chelsea Players' Player of the Season as well as Chelsea Player of the Season, voted for by supporters, as well as being awarded the Premier League Player of the Month award for April 2024 and the Premier League Goal of the Month award for his first goal against Everton, becoming the first player in Chelsea history and the fifth player overall to win the Player of the Month and Goal of the Month awards in the same month. On 11 May, Palmer made his 50th overall Premier League appearance, marking the occasion with an assist in a 3–2 away win at Nottingham Forest. By doing so, Palmer became the 13th player in Premier League history to score 20 or more goals and provide 10 or more assists in the same season.

Palmer finished the season with a total of 27 goals and 15 assists across all competitions; he had the most goal involvements (33: 22 goals, 11 assists) of any other player in the 2023–24 Premier League season. He won the Premier League Young Player of the Season and PFA Fans' Player of the Year awards for his outstanding first season at Chelsea while also being nominated for the Premier League Player of the Season and the FWA Footballer of the Year awards. His Goal of the Month winning strike against Everton in April was nominated for Premier League Goal of the Season.

International career
Palmer represented the England national under-17 team at the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

On 27 August 2021, Palmer received his first call up for the England under-21s. He scored a goal on his debut in a 2–0 win over Kosovo in 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification. He was later included in the England squad for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, starting in the final as the Young Lions went on to win the tournament.

On 13 November 2023, Palmer received his first call-up to the senior England national team ahead of their UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Malta and North Macedonia. He made his debut on 17 November, coming on as a 61st-minute substitute in England's 2–0 victory against Malta at Wembley Stadium.

In May 2024, he was selected in the 33-man preliminary squad for the UEFA Euro 2024. Palmer made his first England start and scored his first senior international goal in a pre-tournament friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina on 3 June. Three days later, he was named in coach Gareth Southgate's final 26-man squad for the tournament. He made his tournament debut as a substitute in England's final Group C match against Slovenia on 25 June. Five days later, he again appeared as a substitute, replacing Kieran Trippier in the 66th minute of England's 2–1 extra time win over Slovakia in the round of 16.

Palmer appeared as a 78th-minute substitute, replacing Ezri Konsa in the quarter-final against Switzerland and scored the first kick of England's 5–3 penalty shootout win. On 10 July, Palmer came off the bench with Ollie Watkins in the 81st minute to assist the latter's winning goal in the 90th minute of the semi-final against the Netherlands, sending England to their second consecutive Euros final and their first ever final on foreign soil. Four days later, on 14 July, Palmer came off the bench in the 70th minute of the final against Spain and scored England's equaliser from outside the box just three minutes later. However, Spain went on to win the match 2–1.

Style of play
A playmaker, Palmer is known for his record and mentality at penalties, passing, and dribbling, while also creating and scoring goals. He also often attempts long range shots and cuts inside the opposition line. Palmer is left footed, although he can also play well with his right foot. Former Bristol City and Sunderland manager Lee Johnson described Palmer as a "matador showing his shoulder" and praised his technical ability. Palmer's calmness on the pitch was also lauded, earning him the nickname "Cold Palmer". He is also known for his arms-crossed with hands rubbing his shoulders celebration.

Honours
Manchester City
 * Premier League: 2022–23
 * FA Cup: 2022–23
 * UEFA Champions League: 2022–23
 * UEFA Super Cup: 2023

Chelsea
 * EFL Cup runner-up: 2023–24

England U21
 * UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2023

England
 * UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2024

Individual
 * London Football Awards Men's Young Player of the Year: 2024
 * Chelsea Player of the Season: 2023–24
 * Chelsea Player's Player of the Season: 2023–24
 * Premier League Player of the Month: April 2024
 * Premier League Goal of the Month: April 2024
 * Premier League Young Player of the Season: 2023–24
 * PFA Fans' Player of the Year: 2023–24
 * Premier League Game Changer of the Season: 2023–24