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Pep Guardiola predicted a “good future” for the Manchester-born midfielder after handing the 18-year-old his first-team debut earlier this season
Manchester City’s Etihad training campus isn’t short of superstar names, with some of the best players in the world, both in the men’s and women’s game, currently calling it their home.
As such, being a quiet teenager from a local background can, in some cases, lead to talented people getting lost in the confusion.
Phil Foden, of course, has shown that there is still room for home-grown players to thrive at City, although there was never any doubt that he would achieve the rank having been marked as a supreme potential both at the level of club that internationally for years before making its breakthrough.
There is hope, however, that Foden can be a forerunner for a new generation of first-team stars produced by the City’s youth program, rather than being the only academy graduate among a multimillion-dollar signing bracket.
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The next player off the conveyor belt looks set to be creative midfielder Cole Palmer, who despite his reserved demeanor has made a lot of noise around the Etihad campus.
Palmer, 18, has already made a strong impression on Pep Guardiola and his coaching staff, and having made his senior debut earlier this season, he looks set to remain on the Catalans’ plans throughout the season.
“He has shown us a lot from two months ago,” the City manager said after handing him his debut in September’s Carabao Cup win against Burnley. “He has a good future in this club”.
Palmer’s recent rise has been particularly noteworthy.
In April 2019, Guardiola was watching from the stands when the youngster missed the decisive penalty in the FA Youth Cup final defeat to Liverpool.
Less than 18 months later, however, it was he who scored the winner with a close-range finish in a 3-2 win over Chelsea as City ended their 12-year wait to win the coveted trophy.
This capped a few memorable weeks for Palmer, who in addition to making his first-team debut also got his first taste of the Champions League when he was introduced as a late replacement against Marseille in October.
“It all went well, it all happened so quickly,” he says Objective. “I had a lot of fun and I think now I just have to move on.
“It’s really encouraging [Guardiola] offers opportunities for younger players. I think that if the young players are playing well and if they like them, I don’t think he will hesitate to put them in the squad.
“So we just have to really move on, and hopefully we have more chances.”
Palmer originally earned a call-up to train with the first team after an excellent season last season as part of an exciting Under 18 squad.
In total, he scored 15 goals and recorded five assists in just 14 appearances, all the while earning the Player of the Year award.
The likes of Kyle Walker, who belongs to the same agency as Palmer, and Foden helped him settle down when he eventually joined the senior team, and he took the opportunity to impress.
“I went thinking there was no pressure,” he recalls joining players like David Silva and Sergio Aguero, whom he had seen at City as a fan since he was 10.
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“I’m a kid, they don’t expect anything, so I thought I’d go play the way I did since I was little. Go and enjoy, so I did it. “
Although the Covid-19 epidemic held back its development, with all football in England closed for around three months between early March and June, when City returned they decided to invite a number of players from the ‘local academy to train with the first team squad in an effort to make sure they don’t feel isolated without youth football scheduled until the fall.
Palmer was in the group and was named to the bench for two Premier League matches before the end of the 2019-20 season when City secured a second place finish.
Hailing from Wythenshawe – the same Manchester suburb of Marcus Rashford – Palmer was coveted by both City and Manchester United at eight, although he ultimately chose the blue part of the city to continue his development.
He was, however, the smallest player of each age group to walk through the academy system and was close to release due to his size.
Some were concerned that he was too little to be successful, although others thought his style would mark him as one to watch if he trained at Barcelona’s La Masia Academy, where tiny and technically gifted midfielders are prized.
There are no such worries nowadays, with Palmer now reaching a height of over six feet, but is still blessed with the same elegant touch and style that set him apart as a talent ten years ago.
Naturally left-handed, he thrives on cutting from the right side onto his strongest foot while continuing to pose a threat to the target as well as being a key creator.
His first professional contract was signed in July 2019 and the club awarded him with a two-year extension a year later, meaning his current deal will keep him at City until the summer of 2024.
Now the England U18 international must work his way into Guardiola’s thoughts, but after the Catalan has carefully nurtured Foden’s progress to become a starter in the first team, Palmer believes he must remain patient and continue to improve.
“I’m just thinking about training every day and working hard,” he says. “I still go with the mindset that there’s no pressure – just go and do your thing like when I was a kid.
“Express yourself, work hard and see where it takes me.”
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