Palmer was born and raised in Wigan, Greater Manchester.[3][4]
Career
Barnsley
After a decade with Manchester City's academy, he was released in 2016, and joined Barnsley.[5][6] He signed an 18-month professional contract with Barnsley in January 2017.[7] In July 2018, he signed a one-year contract extension with Barnsley.[6][8] On 21 December 2018, Palmer joined National League North club Darlington on a one-month loan.[9] On 23 January 2019, Palmer's loan at Darlington was extended until the end of the seasons.[10] He made 18 appearances on loan at Darlington.[2] In May 2019, Palmer signed a new contract with Barnsley until summer 2020.[11]
In May 2020, Barnsley announced that Palmer had signed a new two-year contract with the club.[12] Palmer made his debut for Barnsley on 20 June 2020 against Queens Park Rangers in the EFL Championship.[13] He made 3 league appearances during the 2019–20 season.[14] Palmer made a first-team breakthrough during the 2020–21 season, making 36 league appearances.[13][15] He scored his first goal for Barnsley in a 2–1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers on 28 November 2020.[16] Despite starting his career as an attacking midfielder, Palmer was used mainly as a holding midfielder during the 2020–21 season as Barnsley finished 5th in the Championship, qualifying for the play-offs.[17] He played in both legs of their play-off semi-final defeat to Swansea City.[15]
Barnsley manager Valerien Ismael and Palmer's midfield partner Alex Mowatt both left the club in summer 2021, leaving Palmer as the oldest midfielder in Barnsley's squad.[18][19] He made 33 appearances for Barnsley during the 2021–22 season, scoring once against Millwall, in what the Barnsley Chronicle described as a "very tough campaign" for Palmer.[20][18] Barnsley were relegated to EFL League One after a 24th-place finish in the Championship.[21]
On 10 February 2024, Palmer signed for League of Ireland Premier Division club St Patrick's Athletic on loan.[24] He made his debut for the club on 29 March as a substitute in an away match against Drogheda United.[25] His first start came on 24 May 2024 under newly appointed former Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny, in a 2–2 draw away to Bohemians in which Palmer won the penalty for his side's first goal, before assisting the second goal.[26][27] On 25 July 2024, Palmer made his first European appearance of his career, assisting Jake Mulraney's second goal in a 3–1 win over Vaduz of Liechtenstein in the UEFA Conference League.[28] He scored his first goal for the club in the away leg against Vaduz, scoring an 81st minute equaliser to secure a 2–2 draw at the Rheinpark Stadion, earning a third qualifying round tie with Sabah of Azerbaijan.[29] On 8 August 2024, Palmer scored the only goal of the game to secure a 1–0 win in the first leg against Sabah at Tallaght Stadium.[30][31] On 22 August 2024, he was substituted off in the first half of his sides 0–0 draw with İstanbul Başakşehir in the UEFA Conference League due to a Medial collateral ligament injury that would keep him out of action for 8 weeks, including the following week's second leg.[32][33] On 1 November 2024, Palmer scored in the 90th minute of a 2–0 win over Sligo Rovers as his side won a record equaling 9 league games in a row to secure 3rd position in the table and UEFA Conference League football for the following season.[34]
Career statistics
As of match played 1 November 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition