Fearless, confident and full of beans, ‘cool’ Cole Palmer is exactly what England needs to start the party at Euro 2024, writes OLIVER HOLT

On Friday the sun shone on the English base in Thuringia and the light came in. While England’s European Championship so far has been a story of promise yet to be delivered, the young stars who everyone hopes will transform the campaign strolled around the grounds of the castle. that’s the FA’s media base for talking to the press.

Kobbie Mainoo, who put in such an impressive second-half performance against Slovenia on Tuesday and who many expect to start against Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday in midfield alongside Declan Rice, was the first to enter the courtyard with manager Gareth Southgate walked up the castle.

Anthony Gordon was next, the young Newcastle United winger laughing ironically about the bike accident that had left him with a grazed chin and cuts to his hands. He hoped he would get more against the Slovaks than the few minutes he had played at the end of the match against Slovenia.

And then there was Cole Palmer, the man seen by many as the antidote to the struggles Southgate’s team endured in the first three games and who anointed the maverick, the mercurial player, the creative, fearless youngster where England must turn to to drive them out of the doldrums.

Palmer’s attitude exemplifies everything England need to build momentum in this tournament. His signature celebration, where he crosses his arms in front of him to indicate he’s “cold,” also sums it up. England need his nervousness as much as his skill.

Palmer, 22, is a fascinating player to talk to. His youth and nonchalance radiate from him. He doesn’t try to be someone he’s not. He’s so confident in himself that he doesn’t feel the need to pretend. His answers are often laced with mischief.

Exhibit A: He was asked about his (assumed) nickname, Beans. “Do you really have a taste for Baked Beans?” he was asked.

‘What?’ he said.

“Baked beans?”

“I don’t really have a preference,” Palmer said. “I’ve only had them a few times.”

‘Some players call you “Beans”?’

“No,” Palmer said. “No one calls me Beans.”

It turns out that only Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic calls him Beans, and that’s because Palmer calls him ‘Beetroot’.

“I like beans,” said Palmer, “but he always eats beetroot. He has beetroot for everything, he wants it for breakfast, dinner and tea.”

Exhibit B: I have tried to claim Palmer as a Stockport resident, like Phil Foden and Mainoo. He shot them too.

‘Can Stockport claim you? Surely you are Wythenshawe?’

“Yes,” said Palmer.

‘Are you a Stockport fan?’

“No,” Palmer said. “Men united.”

‘Have you ever been to Stockport?’

‘It was close to me, I wasn’t Stockport, I was Wythenshawe. It’s a postcode in Manchester.’

That’s one of the reasons it’s so interesting to talk to Palmer. His indifference in Manchester is funny. He’s not easily impressed or prone to great animation. He has the kind of confidence that suggests nothing really fazes him.

It’s that personality that is part of the reason he had the confidence and ambition to leave Manchester City for Chelsea and why he was such a big hit at Stamford Bridge last season.

As a result, there are increasing calls for him to be given a more prominent role in the England team.

He may not start against Slovakia, but it’s easy to see him being Southgate’s first substitute when England need a spark. He is constantly growing in stature.

He is also a connoisseur of the game, someone who loves to watch great players.

“Did you watch a lot of football during the tournament?” he was asked.

“I don’t have anything else to do, do I?” Palmer replied, grinning.

He said he was particularly impressed by Austria. He gave honourable mentions to Turkey and Georgia and said that 16-year-old Spanish prodigy Lamine Yamal and Germany’s Jamal Musiala were the ones who had caught his attention.

Palmer also painted a picture of a camp where many of the country’s most exciting young talents are enjoying the excitement and experience of their first major tournament. He said he was surprised at how good the facilities at their hotel were for the England players.

Since arriving in Germany, he said he has become addicted to the racquet sport padel, which is becoming increasingly popular, and that he, Mainoo and Crystal Palace’s young midfielder Adam Wharton have a healthy rivalry.

“I’m hooked now,” Palmer said. “I had never played before I came here, so when I started playing it was over after one match. I just kept playing. Kobbie will say he’s the best. I’ll say it’s me and Adam will say it’s Adam. It’s probably Adam, but only because he used to play tennis, so he’s cheating, really.’

Palmer has brought an element of skill and unpredictability to the England team that has been missing since the first half of the opening match against Serbia, when he came on against Slovenia, and he can’t wait to get back in action against Slovakia.

“I wouldn’t say I was nervous coming in,” Palmer said. ‘Of course you think about what it will be like, but I don’t think in terms of nerves. It’s just wondering what it will be like because it’s your first and you have players here who have done five tournaments. They helped the new one.

“I just wait for my time and when I get in, I just try to do what I do. I was just excited to play 20 minutes against Slovenia and thought I would try to do something or make an impact. I could have scored at the end…’

“Did that haunt you a little bit?” Palmer was asked.

“No,” he said. “I think I’m ready to go, but it’s not me. I wouldn’t say I’m impatient because I know it’s my first tournament and you’ve got players like Bukayo (Saka), Phil and Jude (Bellingham) in my position, so it’s understandable. But I just want to keep going and impress when I do.

‘Ask a player sitting on the bench and he thinks: ‘Let me get started’. It’s normal to want to get on the field. Am I aware that people are telling me to start? Not really. You can see what fans think on social media. There are a lot of different teams that people want to play in, so it’s normal. It’s nice to see that people want me to play, but that’s not up to them, right?’

For a player who hasn’t done many media interviews, Palmer held up brilliantly. He spoke about the debt he owed to Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea, the fact he played under new boss Enzo Maresca when he was in Manchester City’s youth academy and that his first position as a child was left-back.

Because England are so short of left-backs, he received a roar of laughter from the journalists sitting in a semi-circle in front of him. It was the only time Palmer looked alarmed.

He also told one final story, which seemed to sum up how far England have come under Southgate and the way the side continues to develop. He said his first World Cup memory was Frank Lampard’s shot hitting the underside of the crossbar against Germany in South Africa in 2010.

The first World Cup match he watched live, he said, was Russia against Belgium at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro in 2014. It turned out his grandfather, Gary, had moved to Rio. “He didn’t like the weather in Manchester so he moved to Rio,” Palmer said. Palmer, who was 12, and his family were staying in an apartment his grandfather had rented.

So had he seen England play in the 2014 World Cup?

“No,” Palmer said. “When I got there, they were already down.”

The sparkle in his eyes was back.