He may have come through Manchester City’s academy, but Cole Palmer actually idolises a Manchester United and England legend and used to try and copy him as a kid.
Following the international break, Palmer will be looking to continue his fantastic run of form when Chelsea travel to Leicester City in Saturday’s early Premier League kick-off.
The attacking midfielder has enjoyed a meteoric rise since leaving Man City for Chelsea last year, going from rarely-seen prospect to one of the best players in the Premier League.
The 22-year-old scored 25 goals and made 15 assists in his first season in west London and has seven goals and five assists in just 13 games so far this campaign.
Palmer may not be a striker, but his eye for goal is brilliant and partly because he learned from one of the best goal-scorers in Premier League history.
The Blues star grew up as a Man Utd fan and would try and replicate Wayne Rooney goals after watching him score for the Red Devils.
‘If he’d scored a goal on the weekend, I would go out and see if I could do it,’ Palmer told The Telegraph of his days as a kid in Wythenshawe’s Hollyhedge Park.
‘My family still live in Wythenshawe, so when I’m going past the park I always try to stop and remember it.
‘I do try to take it in my stride, but you do sometimes have moments when you think, “Maybe 12 months ago none of this was like this, maybe I could go more places and do things.”
‘I do stop and think, “Wow, it has changed fast.” I’m still getting used to it.’
Rooney, Manchester United and formerly England’s all-time top goalscorer, enjoyed a hugely successful career, winning countless trophies at Old Trafford including five Premier League titles and the Champions League.
Having spent his whole life in Manchester, Palmer is still not fully settled in to his new surroundings in Surrey, but admits there is one nice perk about life down south.
He added: ‘Manchester’s better, but I don’t mind it. I do like it around here, because it’s quiet, there are no distractions. Everyone you would go out with on a day-to-day basis is nowhere near you.’
Palmer’s Manchester United connection extends beyond Rooney however, revealing that David Beckham reached out to him last season, though the former England captain was a bit before his time.
‘Beckham messaged me. I scored one day, and I saw him in my DMs,’ Palmer told GQ Magazine.
Asked if he watched much of Beckham for the Red Devils, he said: ‘Not really. I was a bit young.’
This article was first published on November 14, 2024.
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