This is the touching way Cole Palmer pays homage to his heritage every time he steps on the field.
The Chelsea midfielder, from Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, was one of England’s star performers in their Euro 2019 game against Switzerland on Saturday.
The 22-year-old scored the first of England’s five penalties in Dusseldorf and played a pivotal role as the Three Lions progressed to the semi-finals.
Following his success on the pitch, football fans have been highlighting how Cole always wears two pins, featuring the flags of England and St Kitts and Nevis, on his left boot.
Cole’s paternal grandfather, Sterry Cole, was originally from Saint Kitts and Nevis, a small Caribbean island, before moving to the United Kingdom in 1960.
Pictured: Cole Palmer playing in England’s match against Switzerland in Dusseldorf on Saturday
After football fans on X questioned Cole’s Caribbean heritage, one user highlighted the touching way the player pays tribute to both sides of his family during his matches.
On Sunday morning, X user Lorraine King wrote: “I see people here questioning claims that Cole Palmer is of black descent. Cole’s grandfather is from St Kitts and Nevis.”
In response, another added: “His boots display the flags of both nations.”
“It’s not obvious that he’s of Kittian descent,” said a third. “Another example of how the Windrush has benefited Britain.”
Meanwhile, a fourth replied: “And he’s a great lad from Manchester!”
Speaking to The players’ tribune In July 2022, Cole spoke about why he wanted to incorporate both flags into his uniform.
The player praised his father for encouraging his love of football, saying: “We would practice every day no matter what the weather was like, and my dad’s family is from St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean. He hates going out in the cold, but he would do it for me anyway.”
“That’s why I have the flag of St. Christopher on my boots, as a small tribute to him and his family.”
Undated photograph of Cole Palmer and his grandfather Sterry Cole, who moved to the UK from Saint Kitts and Nevis in 1960
Undated photograph of Cole Palmer and his father Jermaine, whose father Sterry was part of the Windrush generation.
Pictured: Cole Pamer always wears pins featuring the flags of England and St Kitts and Nevis when he plays.
Last year, Cole’s grandfather spoke exclusively to MailOnline about the painful struggles the family endured as part of the Windrush generation.
Sterry told how his parents made the painful decision to leave him and his older brother St Clair behind as they tried to establish a better life for their family after travelling to the UK in 1955, having left behind a modest stone house in Basseterre.
She said: ‘My Aunt Pearl, another aunt and an uncle lived with us and there was my grandmother. I think the house only had three rooms but it was always full of people.
‘My parents had already gone to England, they left in 1955, five years before my brother and I, so we were raised by my grandmother and my aunts.’
Sterry grew up playing cricket and knew nothing about football until he arrived in England in 1960, after a two-week trip to Southampton, where his parents met him.
Palmer’s mother Marie, 48, was a divorcee with two young daughters – Lucy, now 31, and Ashley, 28 – when she married his father Jermaine in Manchester in February 1994.
After football fans on X questioned Cole’s Caribbean heritage, one user highlighted the touching way the player pays tribute to both sides of his family during his matches.
He said: “Life was very different in Manchester, the people were different, as was the weather and the food, so it was a bit of a culture shock at first, but when you’re young you adapt pretty well. We didn’t stay in Moss Side for long before heading to Rusholme.”
Palmer’s great-grandfather worked in a garage before landing a job at a Kellogg’s factory, while his great-grandmother got a job as a sewing machinist. Meanwhile, Sterry went into construction.
Sterry’s brother rose to fame after joining Manchester soul group Sweet Sensation, who had a number one hit in 1974 with Sad Sweet Dreamer.
He said: ‘My brother ended up going into the music industry. He was an artist and joined a soul group that had some hits in the 70s.
‘I gravitated towards the construction industry and worked as an industrial welder, so I spent my time at work cutting and shaping metal.’
One of Sterry’s cousins with whom he travelled to Britain later returned to St Kitts and his aunt Pearl went to live in Canada.
But Sterry added: “The rest of us are still in Manchester, this is where we all put down roots and I never thought about going back.”
He is close to his grandson, who grew up supporting Manchester United but spent 15 years at rivals City after starting out in the club’s academy.
Sterry also spoke glowingly of his grandson’s incredible career. In April, Cole was named ‘signing of the season’ shortly after joining Chelsea for £42.5m.
Sterry continued: “We are all incredibly proud of him. He has worked very hard to get where he is and deserves all the success he is getting.”
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