Cole Palmer celebrated his first ever England start in dream fashion with a goal on Monday night, but was quick to link up with his family to revel in the moment after the game.
Palmer’s incredible rise has seen him become one of the leading forwards in the Premier League, finishing the campaign with 22 goals and 11 assists in his first season with Chelsea.
In that time he has become a sure-fire name for the plane to Germany this summer for the European Championship, and showed his credentials yet again on Monday.
With the friendly clash against Bosnia and Herzegovina failing to spark into life approaching the hour mark, the visitors gave away a penalty at St. James’ Park, with Palmer stepping up to the spot.
As he has done all season, Palmer tucked the spot-kick away and marked his first start with his first goal, and with his proud family watching on he celebrated the milestone with the people who matter most.
Cole Palmer’s sister, Hallie, caught the moment he celebrated his first England goal with his proud dad, Jermaine
Palmer is pictured with sister Hallie – who he shares a close bond with – signing a Manchester City contract in 2019
Palmer has credited his father (centre) for his career as a professional footballer
His sister caught the moment in a TikTok post with the goal scorer snapped posing with his dad, who understandably had a huge grin on his face – and pulling out the ‘Cold Palmer’ celebration too.
Her pride in her brother was evident from her post, which included pictures marking his first goal, calling him a star, and another claiming she was his biggest fan.
While he does not share much of his personal life on social media, he has regularly spoken about his family and their close bond in the past.
Last year, he told how he owes his success to father Jermaine, saying: ‘Without my dad I probably wouldn’t be a footballer.
‘He did numerous hours with me every night, working with me to try and make me a professional footballer. And yeah I am trying to repay him as much as I can.’
Father Jermaine, who fixes dental equipment for a living, was a self-proclaimed pub football legend, who spotted the talent in his young son when he was aged around four and quickly instilled in him a love of the game.
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.’
Palmer pulled out his trademark celebration after netting the penalty to open the scoring against Bosnia and Herzegovina
Palmer took on penalty duties with regular taker and captain Harry Kane on the bench at the time
He tucked his effort in to the bottom right corner of the goal to give the hosts the lead in the second half
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!’
The Chelsea man and his sister are thought to be very close, with the two partnering up for one of Palmer’s most famous off-pitch exploits – a viral video on TikTok.
He was seen singing along to a Vybz Kartel song with the video becoming a trademark symbol of celebration posted by excited fans every time Palmer scores or puts in a good performance.
In the video Palmer is shown performing a series of moves as he sings along to the track Clarks, which is sung in Jamaican patois, and is an homage to the sensible shoe brand.
Palmer’s sister Hallie has studied for a fashion degree and already set up her own brand creating oversized hair ribbons and scrunchies for women
The video also features one of Palmer’s colourful football boots which are emblazoned with the English flag of St George alongside the flag of St Kitts and Nevis.
It was posted at the behest of his sister Hallie who while studying for a fashion degree set up her own brand creating oversized hair ribbons and scrunchies for women.
Asked about the video after his call-up for England’s Euro 2024 qualifying match against Malta last year, Palmer said: ‘Me and my sister were in the house one day and there was a TikTok trend going around.
‘People were singing songs and stuff and my sister said “Come and sing this song” so I was like “Umm… alright we’ll do it”.’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk