Tears of joy for Palmer's family as Luton move means midfielder can come home

Popular midfielder Kasey Palmer revealed there were tears of utter joy amongst his family when he let them know he was signing for the Hatters on a permanent basis in the summer.

The 29-year-old was a massive hit amongst Luton supporters during his loan spell at Kenilworth Road last term, scoring eight goals in 20 League One outings, just unable to propel the club into the top six, missing out by one point on the final day of the campaign. The move was a match made in heaven for the Jamaican international though, as having endured a tough spell at Hull City, where he wasn’t a first team regular, but more importantly, lived away from his family for large parts of the week, it meant he could finally be back home again, doing all the fatherly duties he could lay his hands on.

Having finished his stint in Bedfordshire, Palmer was eager to return for the upcoming season, rather than head back to Humberside for the final year of his contract, despite Hull having reached the Premier League via a play-off final victory over Middlesbrough, as his Instagram account throughout the summer was full of his children proudly wearing their Luton shirts.

The only sticking point to making the dream move happen was a deal being agreed between the two clubs, but once that happened, Palmer was able to tell his three kids he was coming home, and on their reaction, he said: “We told the kids on holiday and then we came back and he told all his friends when he was playing on PlayStation, so I was thinking hopefully no-one leaks it before we come here!

“The kids were really emotional when I told them, my two oldest boys cried. My little girl was a bit like, ‘what’s going on?’ But they cried, so they were quite happy that I was going to be home as they’ve missed me when I’m away, so it was special. They don’t take it (their kits) off. They got new ones the other day, but they just constantly wear Luton kits. Away kit, home kit, it’s a close club to home, so for them it’s special. My little boy’s friends are Luton fans, so for him it’s unbelievable, it’s really good.”

Going into a bit more detail on just how hard he had found it living away from home for the last few years, Palmer continued: “For me personally when I was at Hull my family didn’t move with me, so I was spending, four, five nights a week away from the kids and that was probably one of the most difficult spells of my career.

"They were FaceTiming, ‘why are you not home? When are you back home?’ And you know what football’s like, you lose a game, the manager gets angry, the day off’s cancelled and I’m having to explain to the kids I’m not home and they’re like ‘why are you not coming back? I’ve got a match, you’re going to miss my match.’

"It’s the tough side of football, but now I’ve got the opportunity to be back home where I’m not going to have that, I’m going to constantly be there, Little things that you take for granted, just dropping the kids off at school and picking them up from school, dinner all around the table, which when I was away it was FaceTime and trying to catch up.

"When you’ve got a day off you’re rushing on the motorway, stuff like that just becomes mentally draining and people don’t really see it. To be home, I don’t miss a moment. I go to my little boy's football training, I can do all the little things that you kind of miss when you’re aways so it’s special to be back home. Coming to training and an environment that I’m enjoying, hopefully it works out perfectly and I can’t see why it won’t..”

Meanwhile, boss Jack Wilshere, who himself is a father of four, knew how important it was for Palmer to be happy off the field and thinks that Luton will now see the benefits of that on the pitch too. He added: “You get to a point when you’re a player and it’s a difficult position as you still have this real hunger and desire to improve and play at the best level you can, but you also then start to, in a strange way, respect your family a little bit more.

"When you’re a young player you’re probably quite selfish, which is fine as it’s all about you and you’re trying to build your career, but then as you get older and you have kids, and your wife’s there, you start to appreciate them a little bit more and the importance that they played through that journey when you’re trying to build it, so they deserve some time with you. I’m really happy for Kasey’s family as I’ve known them a few years, we’ve had a mutual friend and I know it’s not always easy when your husband or your dad’s away and you always have to do everything. His kids are also quite lively like mine, so I’m really happy for that.”