BBy the end of his 20-minute interview with Cole Palmer, the England winger had praised Riyad Mahrez’s first touch, revealed that Austria was one of his favourite teams for Euro 2024, claimed London players are much moodier than their northern counterparts, spoke about playing 20 minutes against Slovenia, praised Mauricio Pochettino’s time at Chelsea, detailed his relationship with Enzo Maresca and, best of all, corrected incorrect reports that he’s obsessed with baked beans.
The answers are short, sweet and often very enlightening. Palmer isted no time in revealing that his first position was left-back. It’s a casual remark, but then suddenly, he’s terrified. He glances at the PR man to his left and wonders if he’s made a gaffe. Is Gareth Southgate stumbling upon the answer to England’s position problem? “Under-10s!” says Palmer. “Under-10s! I haven’t played left-back since. I was a little guy and they just put me at left-back. By the time I was 12, I was moving up and up.”
Palmer’s natural home is in the final third and, fresh from a fine debut season with Chelsea, the 22-year-old is desperate to be given playing time from the get-go for England. He was unused in either of England’s first two Euros matches but impressed as a substitute against Slovenia on Tuesday. “I was excited to come on for 20 minutes and I wanted to do something, make an impact,” Palmer said. “Maybe I could have scored at the end.”
Had Palmer maintained a bit more composure, England might have clinched a 1-0 victory. Coming in from the right, Palmer had time to curl a shot into the top corner but the ball was too close to Jan Oblak. A better finish would have added to the atmosphere. Palmer, who scored 25 goals in all competitions for Chelsea last season, is normally very calm. Did the mistake bother him? “No, it didn’t.”
There are some pretty succinct answers. When Palmer was asked if Pep Guardiola had actually persuaded him to stay at Manchester City last summer, there was a long, sharp silence. He smiled, thought about what to say, and looked away. “Next question,” he said. The message was received. Whatever the truth, City’s loss was Chelsea’s gain. Pochettino let Palmer go. The Argentinian spoke of Chelsea becoming “Cole Palmer FC”. It all crossed his mind. The brilliant assist, the outrageous goal, the nerve-wracking final penalty. Unfazed by anything. There is an argument to be made that his talent for improvisation could make him perfectly suited to international football.
England have two goals from three games. Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham are getting in each other’s way. Bukayo Saka looks tired on the right wing. Supporters are clamoring for Palmer to start in Sunday’s last-16 tie with Slovakia. “It’s good to see, but it’s not up to them,” he says.
Palmer insists he’s supporting from the bench, but is ready to play. He’s a talented player who has previously played for City’s first team and then for the Under-23s soon after. It’s easy to see why he left City last summer for £42.5m. “I thought about it for about a week whether I should leave but I didn’t want to be a bit player like I had been for the last two years,” he says. “You play 20 minutes, you don’t play five, then you play another five. I just couldn’t find my rhythm.”
It was different at Chelsea. Palmer quickly became an indispensable player and was key to the team’s sixth-placed finish. He says Pochettino “just gave me the chance and the freedom and said, ‘Do your thing'”. It was no wonder there was widespread sadness when Pochettino quit by mutual consent last month. “He trusted me and we had a good relationship,” Palmer says. “Not just with him, but with all his staff. It was a real shock when he left.”
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Chelsea brought in Maresca, who had coached Palmer at City. “I coached Enzo for one season with City’s Under-21s and then he went to Parma,” Palmer said. “I came up through the ranks with Pep. [to the seniors]”He’s back as Pep’s assistant and is a really good coach.” It was Maresca who moved Palmer from the number 10 position to right winger. “What trophy are the Under-21s going for?” he says. “The Papa John’s Trophy. I was destined to play there as a youngster but they thought I had a better chance on the wing than in the middle.”
Mahrez was City’s first choice on the right wing. Palmer studied the Algerian, learning “everything about it.” “The basics: which foot to control the ball with, when to run, when to go inside,” he says. “That’s the gist of it. I’d watch clips of him on YouTube the night before a match.” Palmer loves soccer, recalling going to Brazil to visit his grandfather and watching the 2014 World Cup. The only problem was that England were already out by the time Palmer arrived, and had to make do with Belgium’s 1-0 win over Russia at the Maracana.
Palmer hopes his time is now and will not hesitate to come off the bench to take a penalty if England go to a penalty shootout. But his first aim is to have a proper influence on the overall play. England are hungry for creativity and Palmer is a quiet man but more than capable of expressing his opinions on the pitch.
