Illness to Joao Cancelo had prompted Pep Guardiola to name Palmer in the Manchester City squad for the first time. It was June 25, 2020, and an 18-year-old Palmer flew to London to take his place on the bench against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Palmer took the same journey this summer, when he joined the Blues for £42million, and lit up the same fixture when he scored a dramatic late equaliser on Sunday.
His performance in that thrilling 4-4 draw convinced Gareth Southgate to hand him his first England call-up, and last night he joined up with the national squad at St George’s Park.
Judging by his sterling start at Chelsea, Palmer appears determined to make up for lost time.
He is still just 21, so has a long career ahead of him. But he spent three years on the fringes at City, finding first-team opportunities under Pep Guardiola hard to come by.
Despite scoring a stunning goal in the Community Shield against Arsenal in August and getting another goal against Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup 10 days later, Palmer feared a fourth season on the periphery at City.
This story is from the November 14, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 14, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Only £65k a month to live like Boy George
The Karma Chameleon singer listed his house for £17m in 2022, turning down offers. Now, he's looking for a tenant
Welcome to London, unicorn capital of Europe
We're flying far ahead of anywhere outside US for tech investment
Arteta's Arsenal evolution The next phase
Malik Ouzia and Simon Collings assess how the Spaniard will try to bring down Man City after he signs up for another three years with the title in his sights
Title fight catches fire after Gunners embrace dark side
Arsenal-City clashes take on a welcome edge of animosity
Whack the hippy gong-boho's back
It happened in Paris one grey February day. Sienna Miller was in an oversized, black leather jacket, lace-trimmed silk slip and clumpy great wedges.
There's a Starlink waiting in the sky... 7,000 in fact.Can Elon Musk stop them crashing to Earth?
As he was preparing his fields for seeding this year, Barry Sawchuk came across a giant slab of space debris. It had come from a spacecraft belonging to Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX.
'Politicians are only into power-mongering, corruption and cronyism'
We speak to alt revolutionary DEEPAK CHOPRA about biomarkers, his digital twin and his work to save humanity from disease
I've been waiting for a production of Godotthis brilliant all my life
Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati bring a potent, tragicomic chemistry to James Macdonald’s rich revival of Samuel Beckett’s challenging play.
Trust me, the Ritz is London's bestrestaurant
To whom we turn in moments of gloom and glory can be instructive, a filter of our truest friends. I've fallen out with the Ritz a couple of times, including once after a visit to the bar which didn’t warrant a review (“But you said it was lovely!” they said.
'Healing is a dirty word'
After four traumatic years, FKA twigs is back with a new album -and a thrilling metamorphosis
