Manchester City Despite being a
Manchester United fan, at the under-eight level and progressed through the Academy age groups before
captaining the under-18s during the
2019–20 season. On 21 September 2021, he scored his first goal in a 6–1 home win over
League One team
Wycombe Wanderers in the third round of the
EFL Cup. On 16 October, Palmer made an appearance in the
Premier League against Burnley, and scored a hat-trick for City's under-23 side that same night. On 19 October, Palmer scored as a substitute in a 5–1 away win over
Club Brugge in the group stage of the
UEFA Champions League, marking his first goal in
European football. On 7 January 2022, Palmer scored on his
FA Cup debut in a 4–1 away win over
League Two team
Swindon Town.
2022–23 season in 2023 Palmer saw increased involvement during the
2022–23 season, though still frequently featuring as a substitute. However, his 14
Premier League appearances contributed to Manchester City's title-winning campaign, claiming the title. On 18 March 2023, he scored the team's fifth goal in a dominant performance against
Burnley during the FA Cup
quarter-finals. Palmer also made four appearances during City's Champions League winning run. On 6 August 2023, Palmer scored the first goal in the
2023 FA Community Shield against
Arsenal, after coming on for
Erling Haaland as a second-half
substitute. However, Arsenal scored in
stoppage time and eventually won the match in a
penalty shoot-out. Ten days later, Palmer scored the equaliser in the
2023 UEFA Super Cup against
Sevilla, which Manchester City won 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out after the match finished 1–1, in what would be his last appearance for the club.
Chelsea 2023–24: Breakout season and young player of the season On 1 September, Palmer signed for
Premier League club
Chelsea on a seven-year contract, with the option of a further year. The
transfer fee was reported to be an initial £40 million, potentially rising by £2.5 million in add-ons. On 6 November, Palmer registered a goal and an assist in a 4–1 away win at
London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Six days later, Palmer scored a stoppage-time penalty against former club Manchester City, as the two teams played out a 4–4 draw at
Stamford Bridge. In Chelsea's final match of 2023, away to
Luton Town, Palmer
scored twice for the first time professionally, while also assisting
Noni Madueke's goal, as Chelsea won 3–2. As a result of his performances during December, which included four goals and two assists, Palmer was nominated for the
Premier League Player of the Month award, and his second goal against Luton Town was nominated for
Premier League Goal of the Month. On 23 January 2024, Palmer scored another brace, this time in the
EFL Cup semi-finals, as Chelsea defeated
Middlesbrough 6–1 (6–2 on aggregate) to advance to the
final at
Wembley Stadium. He scored his tenth league goal of the season on 4 February in a 4–2 home defeat to
Wolverhampton Wanderers, making him the first Chelsea player aged 21 or under to score 10 Premier League goals in a season. On 29 February, he was named the Men's Young Player of the Year at the 2024 London Football Awards. By assisting
Axel Disasi's goal against
Brentford on 2 March, Palmer became the Chelsea player with the most goal contributions in a season aged 21 or younger, overtaking
Arjen Robben's tally of 16 contributions in
2004–05. On 4 April 2024, Palmer was nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award a second time after more impressive displays throughout March that saw him score three goals and provide two assists. Later that day, he scored his first career
hat-trick, which included two goals scored deep into added time to complete Chelsea's comeback in a 4–3 home victory against Manchester United. By doing so, Palmer became the
200th different player in Premier League history to score a hat-trick, as well as the third youngest to do so in a match against Manchester United. Palmer's performance in this match enabled him to become the third ever recipient of the
Premier League Game Changer of the Season award. and the first Chelsea player to score two Premier League hat-tricks for the club in a season. He set a record for the fastest
perfect hat-trick to be scored in the Premier League, completing it within 29 minutes. Furthermore, he became the third player in the club's history to score at least 20 goals in his debut season, following
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in 2000–01 and
Diego Costa in 2014–15. On 5 May, Palmer scored during a 5–0 home victory against
West Ham United, becoming only the third player in Premier League history aged 21 or younger to contribute to 30 or more goals in a single season. Palmer was then named
Chelsea Players' Player of the Season as well as
Chelsea Player of the Season, voted for by supporters, On 11 May, Palmer made his 50th overall Premier League appearance, marking the occasion with an assist in a 3–2 away win at Nottingham Forest. By doing so, Palmer became the 13th player in Premier League history to score 20 or more goals and provide 10 or more assists in the same season. Palmer finished the season with a total of 27 goals and 15 assists across all competitions; he had the most goal involvements (33: 22 goals, 11 assists) of any other player in the
2023–24 Premier League season. He won the
Premier League Young Player of the Season and
PFA Fans' Player of the Year awards for his outstanding first season at Chelsea while also being nominated for the
Premier League Player of the Season and the
FWA Footballer of the Year awards. His Goal of the Month winning strike against Everton in April was nominated for
Premier League Goal of the Season.
2024–25: Conference League and Club World Cup titles Before the start of his second season, Palmer signed a new, nine-year contract with Chelsea, keeping him at the club until at least June 2033. On 20 August, Palmer was awarded the
PFA Young Player of the Year award. Five days later, he scored his first goal of the campaign against
Wolverhampton Wanderers at the
Molineux Stadium. This goal would go on to win the
Premier League Goal of the Month award for August 2024, making Palmer the first player in Premier League history to win the award twice in a row across two seasons. In the second half of the same match, Palmer assisted all three of Noni Madueke's goals, helping Chelsea defeat Wolves 6–2, with this performance being the catalyst of his nomination for August 2024's
Premier League Player of the Month award. In a 4–2 win against
Brighton & Hove Albion on 28 September, Palmer scored four goals in the first half, becoming the first player to achieve this feat in the Premier League. On 11 October, Palmer was awarded
Premier League Player of the Month for September, for his five goals and one assist during the month contributing to Chelsea's unbeaten record in September. On 1 December, Palmer scored his 30th goal in the Premier League against
Aston Villa in a 3–0 home victory, making him the second-fastest Chelsea player to score 30 league goals, with only
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink achieving this feat in fewer matches. The following week, he scored two penalties in a thrilling 4–3 victory over Tottenham, the second of which was a
panenka. With twelve penalties scored out of twelve penalties taken, Palmer's goals in this match earned him the outright Premier League record for the most penalties scored without a single miss, surpassing
Yaya Touré's previous record of eleven. Throughout 2024, Palmer also broke the record for the Chelsea player with the most goal contributions in a calendar year in the Premier League, exceeding Hasselbaink's 36 goals and assists in 2001. Despite his early-season form, Palmer had failed to score in 11 straight Premier League matches by 21 April 2025; On 25 April, manager
Enzo Maresca stated that Palmer's recent struggles on the pitch were "a mental thing". On 4 May 2025, he ended a goalless period of 18 games and 1,162 minutes with a goal against Liverpool. for the
2025 FIFA Club World Cup from U.S. president
Donald Trump On 28 May 2025, Palmer was named
man of the match after providing two assists in the
2025 UEFA Conference League final against
Real Betis, helping Chelsea become the first team to win all four major European competitions. Palmer was given the shirt number 10 before the
2025 FIFA Club World Cup, signifying his importance to the club. On 20 June, it was announced that Palmer was one of six nominees for the
PFA Players' Player of the Year. Later that year, on 13 July, he scored twice and provided an assist in a 3–0 win over
Paris Saint-Germain in the
2025 FIFA Club World Cup final, where he was named player of the match. He finished the tournament with three goals and two assists, earning the
Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.
2025–26: Injury and form struggles On 22 August 2025, Palmer injured his
groin during a pre-match warm-up against West Ham United. He returned to action on 13 September, coming off the bench to score his first goal of the season in a draw against Brentford. Four days later, he scored his second career Champions League goal in a 3–1 away defeat to
Bayern Munich. However, following a recurrence of his groin injury in a league match against Manchester United on 20 September, as well as a
fractured toe sustained in an accident, Palmer remained sidelined until 5 December, when he made a substitute appearance in a league match against Leeds United. On 13 December 2025, he scored the opening goal in a 2–0 home win against Everton, before scoring a penalty against Bournemouth on 30 December. On 7 February 2026, Palmer scored his fourth Premier League hat-trick against
Wolverhampton Wanderers, with all three goals coming in the first half. With this feat, he became the first player to record three separate first-half hat-tricks in league history. His second goal, a penalty, also marked his 50th for Chelsea in all competitions. ==International career==