Cole Palmer may not start Sunday’s Euro 2024 final between England and Spain but he could still have quite the impact on proceedings if brought on by Gareth Southgate. That was very much the case on Wednesday evening as he teed up Ollie Watkins to secure a 2-1 win over the Netherlands 10 minutes after entering the fray.

It was Palmer at his very best as he spotted the onrushing striker and played a sumptuous through ball that his fellow substitute finished off in style. That quality from Palmer was on show throughout his debut season at Chelsea, with his time working under Pep Guardiola at Man City making him into the game-changing player he is today.

For the 22-year-old, it all started in his home city of Manchester. Even as a four-year-old, it was clear to see that Cole Jermaine Palmer had a very bright future ahead of him.

“He was brilliant as a kid. He was dead polite, respectful, he just loved playing football,” said Graeme Fowler, Palmer’s junior football coach at NJ Wythenshawe, when speaking to The Mirror. “He was four years old when he came to us. The rest of them were six so we had to get special permission to get him to play against other teams, his dad had to sign a consent form.

“He was just so good we couldn’t not play him. When I first saw him, it was his ball control I noticed. At that age they are just learning ball skills but Cole already had it. It was his first touch and the way he moved with the ball – you knew he was going to make it, I always said it from day one.”

Palmer’s exquisite first touch came from the hours he spent with his dad, Jermaine, in the park opposite their house in Wythenshawe. On this little patch of grass in the park every single day rain or shine, the youngster would work on his first touch over and over again rather than be shooting at goal.

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There was a reason behind it, as outlined by Palmer when speaking to The Players’ Tribune in July 2022. “No point trying to shoot if you can’t keep hold of the ball in the first place,” his father would say.

Palmer stood out once he was on the pitch. Not only was it because of his height as he was the smallest in his age group, but it was his close control and ability on the ball that wowed many. Having visited clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Bolton, Man City, despite Palmer being a United fan, would turn out to be his club of choice when at Under-8s level as they, most importantly, would let him play football.

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Rising through the ranks at City and starring in the process, there was a period when it looked like his time at the club could be coming to an early end due to his slight physique. Some coaches at City were ready to release the player at the age of 16 but Jason Wilcox, the club’s then academy director (and now technical director at Man Utd), wasn’t having any of it.

Fast-forward two years and he was in Man City’s first team as he made his senior bow as an 18-year-old in a 3-0 win away at Burnley in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. One year later, and a month after his Premier League debut, he scored his first goal for the club in the same round of the competition as they hit Wycombe Wanderers for six.

That was the start of things to come for him in the 2021/22 season as it wasn’t long at all until further goals in the Champions League and FA Cup arrived. Taking his game to a new level training day in, day out under the guidance of Guardiola and alongside players such as Kevin De Bruyne and fellow academy graduate Phil Foden, regular action for Palmer was hard to come by, with the player restricted to only 850 minutes across 25 appearances in their treble-winning season.

The 2023/24 campaign appeared that it would finally be his breakout season in the Man City first team with Riyad Mahrez moving on, but in fact it turned out to be the end of his time at the Etihad Stadium. Despite starting the term with goals against Arsenal and Sevilla in the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup respectively, Palmer, who had asked Guardiola “for two seasons” to leave, was to depart for Chelsea at the beginning of September in a £42.5million transfer.

A move that raised eyebrows at the time due his lack of regular first-team minutes at Man City, the transfer now looks an absolute steal after an extraordinary maiden campaign at Stamford Bridge. Flourishing in his year working with Mauricio Pochettino, the attacker would go on to register 25 goals and 15 assists in 45 games in all competitions.

The honours soon started to follow as he collected awards galore, including the Premier League Young Player of the Season gong and also the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year award. It was no surprise to see him earn his first senior England call-up last November, with Southgate given no choice but to select him due to the incredible levels he was producing for Chelsea on a weekly basis.

Speaking last month, Palmer admitted that he probably wouldn’t be in the England squad if it wasn’t for Pochettino. After all, the Argentine told him to ‘do what you do’ and gave him the freedom to star in his Chelsea team.

Palmer may have so far had to contend with minutes here and there at the Euros, but he has always influenced things in the final third when given his chance by Southgate. Another opportunity may well come his way in Sunday’s final, especially after his telling role in helping the Three Lions book their place at the Olympiastadion in Berlin following that glorious assist that Watkins took with both hands.

Tasting Euros glory with England Under-21s against Spain last summer, the player will be hoping that history repeats itself one year on. Enjoying an incredible 2023/24 season to date, Palmer’s most important contribution could still be yet to come.

Southgate and England will be hoping that is very much the case.