{"id":299537,"date":"2023-11-16T01:24:36","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T01:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=299537"},"modified":"2023-11-16T01:24:36","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T01:24:36","slug":"chelsea-and-england-star-cole-palmer-the-most-annoying-thing-about-moving-down-south-the-traffic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/soccer\/chelsea-and-england-star-cole-palmer-the-most-annoying-thing-about-moving-down-south-the-traffic\/","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea and England star Cole Palmer: \u2018The most annoying thing about moving down south? The traffic\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
Palmer in training at St George\u2019s Park this week<\/p>\n
He has, in effect, anointed himself as the spot-kick taker for the \u00a31bn team, taking the ball at Turf Moor to open his Chelsea account. \u201cIt was just an in-game thing, really,\u201d he said, with a matter-of-fact stance. \u201cOnce I scored at Burnley, I just thought: \u2018I\u2019ll take them\u2019.\u201d If penalties have been the English disease, Palmer has no hesitation when asked if he would be willing to come off the bench as a specialist from 12 yards for a shootout. \u201cYeah, I would be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He is not daunted by the last penalty he missed, as a substitute in the shootout when City lost the 2019 FA Youth Cup final to Liverpool. He can only remember failing from 12 yards on one other occasion, \u201cwhen I was dead, dead young versus [Manchester] United,\u201d and a willingness to take responsibility is similarly apparent in open play. \u201cI think I am a player who always wants the ball, anywhere, to try and help the team get out of a difficult situation or create a chance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
If he has created an opportunity for himself with his country because of his excellence at Stamford Bridge, it had not formed part of his thinking. \u201cI wasn\u2019t even thinking of an England call-up when I first went to Chelsea,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Nor, indeed, was it on his agenda as a boy, when his mother banned him from playing in the garden. \u201cI was always breaking her pipes,\u201d he recalled. He has come a long way since then; particularly in 2023. \u201cYeah, it\u2019s been crazy,\u201d he said. \u201cThe changes have happened so fast. From winning the Euros to signing for Chelsea then getting signed up here.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Palmer chats with Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka<\/p>\n
His part in England Under-21s\u2019 European Championship win may have caught Gareth Southgate\u2019s eye. His immediate decision was whether he had done enough to impress Pep Guardiola. There had been interest in taking him on loan, from Brighton and Burnley and RB Leipzig. City decided that he could only leave on a permanent deal and Chelsea forked out \u00a342.5m. \u201cWho knows what would have happened if I had stayed?\u201d Palmer mused. \u201cMaybe I would have played more, maybe not. But I think the decision to go to Chelsea so far is paying off.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is an understatement. And if there seemed a risk involved in swapping the stability of City for the seeming madhouse of Stamford Bridge, there was evidence of more cool-headed thinking from a 21-year-old. Chelsea have been manic buyers but he said: \u201cI did look at how many players were there but I don\u2019t think people realise how many players they actually got rid off, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The departures of, among others, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic and Joao Felix, meant there could be opportunities in the attacking midfield positions. \u201cI looked at the squad and thought: \u2018If I go there and know what I can do then I\u2019ll have the chance of playing\u2019,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd thankfully it\u2019s happened.\u201d If there seemed plenty of traffic in the queue for places in Southgate\u2019s attack, Palmer seems to have accelerated past several rivals. Now an England debut could follow in the next week.<\/p>\n