Palmer, who played football with older children from a young age: It was a lot of fun.

Chelsea midfielder Palmer recently spoke about his childhood in an interview, saying that he often played football with older children when he was young, and learned ball control and body control skills in the process.

In the 2025/26 Premier League season, Palmer scored 10 goals and provided one assist for Chelsea, while in the Champions League he scored one goal and provided two assists. Unfortunately, Palmer was ultimately not selected for England's 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup.

Palmer, 24, said, “I had a lot of fun growing up. My mom always said I was a happy kid. I was just a normal kid who would go out and play. There was a park about 10 seconds away from my house, so I often went there to ride my scooter and bike.”

“There was a caged soccer field next door, so we kids would play back and forth between the two places. Sometimes we would just sit outside the store and do whatever we wanted.”

Reflecting on his experience playing football as a child, Palmer shared, "My opponents were always older kids, which honestly helped me a lot. If I hadn't played with them back then, I probably wouldn't be at the level I am today."

“Nobody likes losing to you, but they won’t go easy on you just because your opponent is younger. They don’t care that you’re younger than them, and they don’t even consider that. So naturally, I learned some skills that I probably wouldn’t have mastered at that age, such as how to protect the ball. This was a very important skill for me when I was young, which was learning how to use my body.”

Palmer also said, "When you're playing football from morning till night every day, and facing all sorts of people, including older people, I think it's very helpful for your growth. Of course, it's a lot of fun."

On the other hand, Xabi Alonso will lead Chelsea in their next friendly match, hosting Real Sociedad from La Liga, to continue preparing for the new season.

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