Cole Palmer’s first major tournament as an England player has already lasted longer than the first one he went to as a fan, with Roy Hodgson’s men out of the World Cup by the time he landed in Brazil.
Now, a decade on, the Chelsea star is ready to shine for the national team whenever called upon as Gareth Southgate’s side step up their quest for Euro 2024 glory.
Palmer made a promising tournament debut off the bench in Tuesday’s 0-0 stalemate against Slovenia, which saw England top Group C and set-up Sunday’s last-16 clash with Slovakia.
The 22-year-old showed a glimpse of the kind of quality that saw him score 22 Premier League goals and provide 11 more for Chelsea last season, leading to some talk that he should start in Gelsenkirchen.
“I just wait for my time and when I get on I just try to do what I do,” Palmer said.
“I was just excited to get on for 20 minutes and thought I was going to try to do something or make an impact. I could have scored at the end.”
Palmer feels ready to start at the Euros but downplayed the social media clamour for him to play, saying it is nice to hear but “not up to them”.
“I wouldn’t say impatient because I know it’s my first tournament,” the England talent said.
“And you’ve got players like Bukayo (Saka), Phil (Foden) and Jude (Bellingham) in my position so it is understandable (that I’m not playing). But I just want to get on, and try to impress when I do.
“I support and stuff but ask any player who’s sat on the bench and they think ‘get me on’. It’s just normal to want to go on the pitch.”
England have yet to hit their straps at Palmer’s first tournament, but it has already gone better than the first one he went to as a fan.
Frank Lampard’s ‘ghost goal’ against Germany in their 2010 World Cup exit is his first international memory and four years later he went to visit his grandad, Gary, in Brazil for the next edition.
Asked if he got to any England games at a tournament they exited in the group stage, he said: “Not the England ones – by the time I got there they’d already been knocked out.
“It was great. I went to watch Belgium versus Russia. I think it was the Maracana.
“My granddad lived in Rio. He got an apartment out there. All the people were there, selling them, so he got one for three weeks.
“He just moved over there. He didn’t like the weather, so he moved to Brazil. Now he speaks fluent Portuguese.”
There is certainly some Brazilian magic in Palmer’s game, but it is an Argentinian he credits for his place at the Euros.
The 22-year-old says his success since swapping Pep Guardiola’s perennial champions Manchester City for Chelsea has surpassed expectations and credits Mauricio Pochettino for helping him sparkle.
Asked if he was sorry to see the manager leave at the end of the season, Palmer said: “Yeah, I was because he put his trust in me and we built a good relationship.
“Not just with him but with all his staff who were there. When he left I was gutted.
“Probably the main reason (I’m here now) because a different manager might not have given me that freedom and opportunity to do what I did at Chelsea.”
Now Palmer has a new club manager, albeit a familiar face in the form of Enzo Maresca.
“I had Enzo at City Under-21s for a season and then he went to Parma,” he said. “Then when I went up with Pep (to the seniors) he came back as Pep’s assistant. He’s a good coach, a really good coach.
“I think tactically he knows what he is doing. He’s a good coach and he will improve a lot of the players.”
For now, though, all eyes are on England and, three years on from their shoot-out agony at Wembley, penalty king Palmer is ready to come off the bench to take one if needed.
“Ivan (Toney) asked me this,” he said. “I was speaking about this the other day with Ivan. Yeah, I’d come on and take one”.
