Cole Palmer: I will miss Mauricio Pochettino – he made me

Cole Palmer says he is “gutted” that Mauricio Pochettino left Chelsea but revealed that his replacement as head coach, Enzo Maresca, is the one who converted the England international into being a right-winger.

The 22-year-old added that he owed his place in the England squad for the European Championship to Pochettino after an outstanding first season at Chelsea following his £42 million move from Manchester City.

“He just gave me the opportunity and the freedom and said ‘do what you do’,” Palmer says before explaining that he was sorry to see Pochettino leave.

“I was [sorry], because he put his trust in me and we built a good relationship. Not just with him but with all his staff who were there. When he left I was gutted.

“He is probably the main reason [I am in the England squad] because a different manager might not have given me that freedom and opportunity to do what I did at Chelsea.”

Nevertheless Palmer welcomed the appointment of Maresca, having previously worked with him at City. “Enzo was the one who put me at right-wing,” Palmer says. “So from the [under] 18s I was playing [number] 10 and when I went to the 23s Enzo played me on the right. That was my first full season on the right. He’s a good coach, a really good coach. I think tactically he knows what he is doing. He will improve a lot of the players.”

Palmer admits that his first campaign at Chelsea – with 27 goals and 15 assists – went “a lot better than expected”, earning him his England call-up and now a clamour for him to start the last-16 tie against Slovakia on Sunday after an impressive cameo versus Slovenia. “Obviously I believed what I could do anyway, but I didn’t think I would go there and have that sort of impact that fast,” Palmer says of Chelsea.

Palmer’s views on Pochettino are the most candid revelations of a player who had suddenly been thrust into the limelight and he offers an insight into the other key stages of his career so far:

Starting as a left-back

There was a moment during Palmer’s briefing with reporters at England’s media centre when he fears he might have said the wrong thing. “No, my first position was left-back,” he reveals when asked about whether he had always been a forward player.

“I am talking under-10s! Under-10s,” Palmer adds, conscious that – of course – England have a problem in that position with Luke Shaw working his way back to fitness, no natural understudy and Kieran Trippier not fully fit. “I didn’t say that [I could play there],” Palmer adds. “Under-10 I was left-back. I have never played left-back since!”

Palmer was very slight as a child – and was almost released by Manchester City’s academy aged 16 because of his physique. “I was tiny and I just got put left-back. Then when I was 12 I moved further and further up,” says Palmer, who eventually first became a striker then a left-footed right-winger.

Going to the Brazil World Cup

Palmer has two very distinct memories of watching England or, rather one of them being not watching England, as a child. His first? “The one when [Frank] Lampard hit the bar. That’s the only thing I remember about that tournament,” he says of South Africa and the 2010 World Cup.

Palmer was eight and Lampard’s shot against Germany in the last-16 tie in Bloemfontein cannoned back off the crossbar before bouncing over the goal-line. Except there was no goal-line technology – the ‘ghost goal’ helped usher it in – and it was not given as England went on to lose 4-1 and were knocked out.

“Then I went to Brazil for the World Cup – my grandad lives in Brazil,” Palmer explains of 2014.

Did his grandfather go to any England games? 
“Not the England ones, by the time I got there they’d already been knocked out!” he says of that even more disastrous campaign when Roy Hodgson’s side were eliminated after two group matches.

“It [the World Cup] was great. I went to watch Belgium versus Russia. I think it was the Maracana [Stadium]. My [maternal] grandad Gary lived in Rio,” Palmer says. “He just moved over there. He didn’t like the weather in England, so he moved to Brazil. Now he speaks fluent Portuguese.”

Learning from Riyad Mahrez

Palmer grew up a Manchester United fan. His hero was Wayne Rooney. “He was just my favourite player. So if my mum said ‘do this’ if Rooney did it, I would do it.
But it was former City team-mate Riyad Mahrez who has been the biggest influence on his career. “I had Mahrez with me for three years,” he says as he tried to break into the City team.

What did he learn? 
“Everything. Basics like, which foot to control the ball with, when to run, when to come inside. Stuff like that. I used to watch his clips on YouTube the night before a game. I thought I’d try and do that,” Palmer explains.
He has watched matches at this Euros closely with Lamine Yamal, the 16-year-old Spanish sensation, and Germany’s Jamal Musiala – who he played with for England’s Under-15s – having caught his eye.

Not wanting to be a ‘bit-part player’ at City

It was a big decision for Palmer to quit City last summer. “Yeah, it was,” he says. “I didn’t know what to do to be honest. I was thinking for a good week if I should leave or not but I just didn’t want to be in the same position as I was the past two years. Being a bit-part player.”

There were talks with Pep Guardiola – and also with Raheem Sterling, who helped persuade him to join Chelsea. “He [Guardola] did say players were leaving and you will get your opportunity, But I felt I would not get as much opportunity as I wanted because the past two seasons I had been sitting on the bench.

“I had been training with the best players so obviously it did improve me but I felt like I was at a stage where I needed to play…I would come on for 20 minutes and then not play for five games. And then come on for five minutes. I couldn’t get any rhythm so that’s why I decided to leave.”

Being an England player

Palmer finally got his chance at the Euros when he came on as a 70th-minute substitute in the goalless draw against Slovenia last Tuesday.

“Obviously you’re thinking about what it’s going to be like but I don’t think in terms of nerves,” he says. “I was just excited to get on for 20 minutes and thought I was going to try to do something or make an impact.”

He did just that. Palmer’s performance only heightened the debate as to whether he should start. He says he is ready. “Personally I think so. But it’s not up to me,” Palmer says. “I wouldn’t say I’m impatient because I know it’s my first tournament and you’ve got players like Bukayo [Saka], Phil [Foden] and Jude [Bellingham] in my position so it is understandable. But I just want to get on and try to impress.”

With England he has naturally bonded with the younger players, especially those such as Kobbie Mainoo and Adam Wharton who are also at their first senior tournaments. It has become particularly competitive around playing ‘padel tennis’.

“I’m addicted now. I never played before I came here,” Palmer says. 
Who is the best player?
“So then, Kobbie will say it’s him, I’ll say it’s me, and Adam will say it’s Adam,” Palmer adds. “But if I’d say one Adam is probably the best – only because he used to play tennis so he’s cheating, really.”

And finally… taking penalties

England players are keeping talk of penalty practice under-wraps to avoid giving their opponents a competitive advantage. But, if he is on the pitch, there is no doubt that Palmer would be a candidate to take one in a shoot-out. Indeed, he has already talked about it with another spot-kick specialist, Ivan Toney.

“Ivan asked me this. I was speaking about this the other day with Ivan,” says Palmer, who scored nine penalties in the Premier League last season and has already got one for England (in the friendly win over Bosnia & Herzegovina). “Yeah, I’d come on and take one”.