17 G/A in 17 games for Palmer this season and 126 direct goal involvements in just 167 games. Aren’t these stats miraculous for a 22 year old? The thing which is more magical about him is his understanding of the game. When Zinedine Zidane was 22, he didn’t even have half of the goals that Palmer has.
He was a Manchester United fan when he was growing up. He is also the first English player after Frank Lampard to score in both the home and away games against his childhood club in the same season. Currently he is one of the most trusted penalty takers in the whole football world, Cole has now surpassed Yaya Toure’s record of 100% success rate in 12 penalties. He must be practicing penalties in training right? Well, he does not. When asked in a post match conference via Optus Sport he says “Nah. I think if you overthink them, you do them too hard or too soft.“
Palmer’s Childhood
He has named Wayne Rooney as his childhood hero when asked about his idol (via The Telegraph). Palmer grew up in Wythenshawe, Manchester, where his father was a dental engineer. His father played in the Sunday League football and probably that was where he got interested in the game. During his schooling days he was a part of the Man City academy, Palmer managed to keep aside his fanhood and learn and master skills in this beautiful game from the rival club’s academy.
Palmer at Man City
Let’s take a look at the rise of Cole Palmer since joining Man City’s youth set-up.
At the age of 16 he was with the blues at Manchester despite the fact that he was a United fan since childhood. In 2018 Cole joined the U-18 team of Man City and a slow and steady growth is what he deserved. Great things take time and the time it took for him to get promoted to the U-23 group was absolutely worth it.
He already has an awesome vision of the game and by then he had polished himself as a first team contender. In 2020 after joining the U-23 team it took just one more year for him to get picked by the greatest manager of the decade.
After being a part of the City squad for 2 seasons he wanted more game time but keeping the fact in mind that City were already playing top football Pep did not feel the need of adding another youngster in regular playing eleven. Palmer had to compete with the likes of Phil Foden, Bernado Silva and Kevin De Bruyne to get a place in the squad. It is clear that the manager knew about his ceiling and wanted to integrate him slowly like he did to Foden. Palmer was already 21 and fully believed in himself, he decided to leave City to join a club where he could show his potential to the world. In 2023 Chelsea signed him.
The ‘Cold’ Mentality
The Footballing IQ of Cole Palmer is just unreal. Chelsea fans say that they have not even seen their legend Eden Hazard making those Hollywood passess and pin point finishing. A Chelsea fan on Reddit says “What a signing this guy is, My boy is a generational talent.”
Talking about his football, he has played at numerous positions. As an Attacking midfielder, as a Winger, as a Wide Forward, as a part of a Pivot and each and every role he played he thrived. His finishing is being talked about a lot but if we see his passes, they are a treat to watch. In a Chelsea team where there was no chemistry, no properly described roles, Palmer managed to have a top season.
He is not a player with ‘flair’ on the pitch like a Vini Jr or a Neymar Jr but his calmness gives his mentality a level-up. You can never guess his next move on the field by looking at his face. The pundits of the game say “his game is effortless” and that’s what a player with high IQ looks like.
