Cole Palmer plays with a swagger that makes it looks like he hasn’t got a care in the world, but one of his Chelsea teammates claims to make him angry on a regular basis.
The 22-year-old has developed into one of the best players in the Premier League ever since leaving Manchester City for Chelsea in 2023 and after a sublime debut season which saw him win the PFA Young Player of the Year award, has continued where he’s left off with 11 goals and six assists under Enzo Maresca in the current campaign.
Palmer is now a sensation on and off the pitch and has been the subject of many viral memes and videos online – with one memorable one seeing him talk about his love for ‘Chippy chips’.
Palmer’s teammates are well aware of the viral clip, with Noni Madueke recently admitting he’s come up with a ‘Chippy Man’ nickname’. But the 22-year-old, who is also gets called ‘Cold’ in reference to his iconic shivering celebration, is not a big fan of Madueke’s creation.
“The thing about Palmer is that the guy genuinely loves football so much,” Madueke said in an interview with Ben Foster for Amazon Prime Video.
“I feel like he could be out there on the lawn just kicking a ball around from morning till night.”
On the nickname, he added: “It’s chippy man, I call him that all the time. He gets angry but it’s calm. Chippy, that’s him man. Chippy chips. He’s going to be fuming when he sees this!”
Madueke isn’t the only Chelsea player to give Palmer a food-based nickname. Serbian goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, who played 31 times last season and has been loaned out to Strasbourg, was branded ‘Beetroot’ by Palmer.
Cole Palmer isn’t a fan of Noni Madueke’s nickname. Image: Getty
And in response, the 25-year-old started calling Palmer ‘Beans’ because of the playmaker’s love for eating them.
“Sometimes we have lunch together and I have beetroot a lot, most time,” he told Chelsea’s official website.
“So, Cole gave me the nickname Beetroot.
“I needed one for him and he eats a lot of beans, which I think is normal for English people, so he is now Beans.
“I know people call him Cold Palmer, which is a correct nickname for him, but for me he is Beans.”
After a disappointing 0-0 draw with Everton on Sunday, Chelsea return to action on Boxing Day with a clash against West London rivals Fulham at Stamford Bridge.