Cole Jermaine Palmer (born 6 May 2002) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Premier League club Chelsea and the England national team. Known for his dribbling, playmaking and composure, he is regarded as one of the best young players in the world.
An academy graduate of Manchester City, Cole Palmer made his senior debut for the club in 2020, and was later part of their squad that won a continental treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in 2023.
Cole Palmer signed for Chelsea in 2023 for a fee of £40 million and had a breakout debut season in which he was rewarded with several awards, including both the PFA Fans' Player of the Year and the Young Player of the Year.
Cole Palmer has represented England across various youth levels, including winning the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, before making his senior debut in the same year. He represented his country at UEFA Euro 2024, scoring the equalising goal in the final.
Before the start of his second season, Cole Palmer signed a new, nine-year contract with Chelsea, keeping him at the club until at least June 2033. On 20 August, Cole Palmer was awarded the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
Five days later, Cole Palmer scored his first goal of the campaign against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux Stadium. This goal would go on to win the Premier League Goal of the Month award for August 2024, making Cole Palmer the first player in Premier League history to win the award twice in a row across two seasons. In the second half of the same match, Cole Palmer assisted all three of Noni Madueke's goals, helping Chelsea defeat Wolves 6–2, with this performance being the catalyst of his nomination for August 2024's Premier League Player of the Month award.
In a 4–2 win against Brighton & Hove Albion on 28 September, Cole Palmer scored four goals in the first half, becoming the first player to achieve this feat in the Premier League. On 1 December, Palmer scored his 30th goal in the Premier League against Aston Villa in a 3-0 home victory, making him the second-fastest Chelsea player to score 30 league goals, with only Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink achieving this feat in fewer matches.
The following week, Cole Palmer scored two penalties in a thrilling 4–3 victory over Tottenham, the second of which was a panenka. With twelve penalties scored out of twelve penalties taken, Palmer's goals in this match earned him the outright Premier League record for the most penalties scored without a single miss, surpassing Yaya Touré's previous record of eleven.
On 8 October 2024, Palmer was named as the England Men's Player of the Year for the 2023–24 season.
