A TikTok video of the United Kingdom’s Chelsea and England star football player, Cole Palmer, has gone viral.
The video shows the footballer singing and dancing to the hit song, ‘Clarks’ by Jamaican dancehall artist Vybz Kartel. Palmer’s fans now post the video every time he scores a goal or turns in a good performance.
‘Clarks’ is sung in Jamaican patois and honours the iconic shoe brand popular on the island. It was cited as increasing Clarks shoe sales following its release in 2010. In the video, which Palmer made at the suggestion of his sister, prominently features one of his colourful football boots that displays the flags of St Kitts & Nevis and England’s St George. According to Palmer, he and his sister Hallie were at home, and prompted by a TikTok trend in which people were singing, Hallie asked him to come and sing the song with her to post on the social media site.
She also wanted the flags on his boot to be an important part of the video. Palmer said the video didn’t go viral right away, but “now I can’t stop seeing it.” Palmer, who was born in 2002 in Wythenshawe, Manchester, in the United Kingdom, is of Caribbean descent through his father, Jermaine Cole, whose family is from St Kitts.
Cole has shared that he “probably wouldn’t be a footballer” without the strong support of his father. His grandfather, Sterry Cole, has clear memories of the difficulties endured by his parents, who came to the UK in 1955 as part of the Windrush Generation in search of a better life.
They left Sperry and his older brother in St Kitts until they were established in Manchester five years later. Cole emphasizes the importance of his father’s support in making him a professional football player.
His father’s work ethic and strong desire for his son to succeed may have stemmed from the hard times his family faced upon migrating to the UK. Palmer says his father spent many hours working with him every night to make him a better player.
He remembers how he used the gates in front of the family home as a goal. Jermaine Cole recognized his son’s talent for the sport when Cole was just four years old. At school, when Cole would misbehave, the teachers would give him a football, and he would stop acting up.
Cole Palmer compares his father to the Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, saying that his father taught him everything about football when he was growing up. “He was Pep before I met Pep,” he noted.
When Palmer was six years old, he was spotted by scouts playing on his local team, NJ Wythenshawe, and several teams were interested in signing him up, including Manchester United. However, he and his family decided to take up an offer from Manchester City, and he joined its academy because City promised he would be able to play in actual matches. After that, Palmer said everything revolved around football.
Palmer became a member of the Manchester City team at under-eight level and continually progressed through the Academy age groups prior to serving as captain of the Under-18s in the 2019-2020 season. He currently plays as a midfielder or winger for Chelsea in the Premier League and England’s national team.
He has achieved an outstanding start with Chelsea after joining the team from Manchester City for £42.5 million. He scored four goals and provided four assists in 11 matches, and he was then called up to England’s squad by Gareth Southgate.
Palmer said it was his love of the game that motivated him to make the switch to Chelsea: he wanted more time on the pitch. “I’m still that kid who is just dead excited for football because it’s the best way I can be me,” he was quoted as saying.
