sport news Inside the rise of Cole Palmer: From pride in his Caribbean heritage and his ... trends now
If Cole Palmer isn't already a household name, the onus is on the household to get with the times. We're looking at a man who could play a defining role in the next decade of English football and beyond.
Not many 21-year-olds brush aside Manchester United, but Palmer does what he likes. His hat-trick for Chelsea against the Red Devils on Thursday night once again saw him stray into the headlines.
Who is this seemingly shy, matter-of-fact chap, and what are his origins? Players like this don't just spawn out of the ether.
He has a fascinating story, from his family's extraordinary journey from the Caribbean to English shores, to being a boyhood Man United fan and then playing for Manchester City.
In his garden as a child he would emulate Wayne Rooney and now kids are copying his own celebration. Let Mail Sport guide you through all you need to know about Cole Palmer.
Cole Palmer's reputation is growing as he has emerged as Chelsea's best player this season
The 21-year-old is gunning to make Euro 2024, but what is his story, and what about his personal life?
Palmer was born in Wythenshawe, Manchester, in 2002 to Marie and Jermaine, with two older sisters. But that wasn't where his ancestors had been based.
His paternal grandfather, Sterry Cole, revealed last year that that side of the family hailed from Saint Kitts and Nevis, a small Caribbean dual-island and, it must be said, a footballing minnow.
Sterry told how his parents took the painful decision to leave him and his older brother St Clair behind as they tried to establish a better life for their family after travelling to the UK in 1955, having left behind a modest stone home in Basseterre.
He said: 'My aunt Pearl, another auntie and uncle lived with us and there was my grandmother. I think the house only had three bedrooms but it was always full of people.
'My parents had already left for England, they went in 1955, five years before my brother and I, so we were brought up by my grandmother and aunties.'
Sterry grew up playing cricket and didn't know anything about football until he arrived in England in 1960, after a two-week voyage to Southampton, where his parents met him.
He said: 'Life was very different in Manchester, the people were different as was the weather and the food so it was a bit of a culture shock at first but when you're young you adapt quite well. We didn't stay too long in Moss Side before heading out to Rusholme.'
Palmer's great-grandfather worked in a garage while his great-grandmother took up a job as a sewing machinist, while Sterry went into construction. The idea someone could earn millions a year just two generations later was unthinkable.
Palmer's grandfather, Sterry Cole, told MailOnline about his family's journey from Saint Kitts and Nevis to England
Palmer's mother Marie, 48, was a divorcee with two young daughters - Lucy, now 31, and Ashley, 28, - when she married his father Jermaine in Manchester in February 1994
As a child, Palmer wasn't running around in a Chelsea shirt or a City one - that would've been sacrilege. No, for him, the only shirt he wanted was wreathed with red.
A photo from his childhood shows Palmer in one of United's old AON-sponsored jerseys. His idol at that age was Wayne Rooney.
He said: 'What a player. When I was growing up I used to watch all the football and the one that sticks in my mind is Rooney.
'Ever since I was a little kid he has been my footballing hero.'
Something had to give when Palmer was scouted by Manchester City at the age of eight. Now he was behind enemy lines - but he still found a way to sneak in a tribute to his beloved club.
As grandfather Sterry said: 'When he first joined City, he used to wear a United shirt or some sort of United garment under his sky-blue shirt.
'He was a United fan but City offered the better set-up, they had the better training facilities and were able to better nurture his talent.
'The fact that he did support United never held him back, though. When City played against them at junior level, he used to absolutely smash them.
As a child, Palmer supported Man United and would imitate Wayne Rooney in the garden
He said his father practiced playing football with him for 'numerous hours every night'
'Ever since he was knee-high, he's been mad keen on football and he'd run rings around the other kids. We knew he was special even back then.
'But he's worked hard, trained hard and just kept at it. But what you've seen from him now, just watch...there's more to come!'
Touching family videos show Palmer as a toddler bouncing and picking a ball round Wythenshawe's Hollyhedge Park as well as a couple of blistering goals taken during his schooldays.
In an interview in 2022 Palmer told how his first memories were about football.
He said of his daily trips to the park with his father: 'We would do that every single day whatever the weather - and my dad's family is from St Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean. He hates going out in the cold. But he'd do it for me anyway.'
He also remembered his dad taking him to watch him play for his Sunday League team.
He said: 'He used to sit me down on the bag of balls on the sidelines, wrapped in one of his rain jackets. I would just take it all in - the crunching tackles, the shouting, the arguing.
'Dad doesn't play anymore since he done his knee, and I don't really remember any specific games, but he'll tell you how good he was!
'He fixes dental equipment as his real job, but to listen to him you'd think he'd had a 20-year career in the Premier League!'
Palmer joined Manchester City when he was eight and rose up through the youth ranks with them
Palmer made his debut for City in September 2020, coming off the bench against Burnley in the EFL Cup.
However, his first couple of seasons in Pep Guardiola's set-up were quiet - the youngster only made 13
