COLE PALMER refused to follow the crowd ahead of Chelsea’s derby day win over West Ham.
The England forward endeared himself to fans by ignoring a bizarre trend prevalent in the modern game.
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Palmer found the net in a 3-0 rout for Enzo Maresca’s side at the London Stadium on Saturday.
The 22-year-old bagged his second goal of the season as Chelsea moved up to fifth in the Premier League.
Before kick-off, Cole joined his teammates on the field to soak up the derby day atmosphere.
As they walked off to the dressing room, Jadon Sancho was spotted walking purposely around the huge Hammers badge situated in front of the tunnel.
It has become a modern trend for players to avoid stepping on club badges in an apparent gesture of respect.
But nobody appeared to have told Palmer.
The former Man City ace strode straight over the West Ham crest, seemingly oblivious to its presence.
One fan laughed on X: “Palmer didn’t even care about West Ham’s logo, he knew he’d cook.”
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Another responded: “Good on Palmer. It’s ridiculous those players not wanting to walk over something that’s slap bang in the middle of a walking area!”
A third added: “It won’t be on the ground if they don’t want people stepping on it..”
And a fourth commented: “Purely for this he is now one of my favourite footballers.”
Palmer has enjoyed a strong start to the new campaign.
He has already racked up two goals and four assists across five Premier League games.
Earlier this month, it was announced Chelsea would be leaving the £40million man out of their Uefa Conference League squad.
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Maresca explained: “The reason why Cole, Wes [Fofana] and Romeo [Lavia] are out of the squad in the Conference League is to protect them a little bit.
“For Cole, it’s a mix. It was an intense season for him last year. We are trying to protect him.”
Chelsea host League Two Barrow in the League Cup tomorrow night before taking on Brighton this Saturday at Stamford Bridge.
