One yardstick of how to measure a young prospect’s progress is how he performs against older, bigger and faster players.
When a young Cole Palmer got his first call-up to train with England’s Under-15s side, he intiially found himself giving the ball away – outmuscled and outmanoeuvred by kids that were twice his size.
Still, there was something about the lad that impressed England Under-15s coach Kevin Betsy.
Kevin Betsy on Cole Palmer’s early promise
Palmer didn’t take long to catch the eye of England Under-15s coach Kevin Betsy, despite the fact that he was being outmuscled and outmanoeuvred by kids that were twice his size.
“It was the way he showed for the ball again and again, even if he’d just lost it,” Betsy tells FourFourTwo nine years on. “He had that confidence, not only to receive the pass while under pressure, but the way he set himself to take it. Always positive in his actions.”
Betsy was in attendance at a youth tournament that featured some of the brightest academy talents across the country, on the hunt for players that could form a junior Three Lions squad for a clash with Turkey in late 2016. He kept an eye on the little playmaker that had caught his attention across the next two games, before going over to speak to his Manchester City coaches.
“I was told the kid’s name was Cole Palmer,” says Betsy. “His coaches were really glowing about him. They said I’d be wise to take a proper look at him and assured me he had a good attitude – a well-grounded boy. I was convinced.”
Palmer joined 80 other promsing youngsters for a trial day in Loughborough and would then make the cut for the final England squad.
“That group, which would have been the 2002 birth year, was really talented,” recalls Betsy. “It included Cole, Morgan Rogers, Noni Madueke, Tino Livramento, Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala – the latter pair playing up a year.”
Rogers and Musiala got themselves on the scoresheet in a 5-2 win against Turkey, but Palmer also impressed his manager. “Cole started up front and had some really nice touches, some intelligent movement and got himself an assist,” recalls Betsy. “We were very happy with the way he played.”
Palmer played another friendly against Belgium two months later before heading to Dlovenia for an U15s tournament in the spring. “Cole was excellent throughout,” adds Betsy. “His game intelligence, his final pass and his ability to receive under pressure. It’s an age level where boys are different sizes and going through growth spurts. Some develop later, as Cole did, but he really did well.”
Betsy would move up to take charge of England’s U16s, with Palmer following him. “He was just desperate to play football and learn from his coaches,” Betsy continues. “To be honest, he wasn’t the strongest player we had and he knew that, but he was determined to get there. We spoke a lot to his family as well as his coaches at Man City. We never heard anything negative about him. He was a coach’s dream. The next year or so we saw his physical development accelerate. He grew tall, his frame filled out and he came on leaps and bounds.”
The next stop for Palmer was Steve Cooper’s England U17 squad, where he would get his first taste of a European Championship in 2019, even if England were eliminated in the group stage.
“It’s a really enjoyable feeling watching youngsters you’ve worked with realise their talent,” says his former England U15s manager Betsy, like a proud parent. “You’re usually never quite sure when or even if it’s going to happen, as there’s so much that can affect things, but I somehow always felt that Cole would do it and I say that honestly. He takes everything in his stride, just effortlessly.”
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