Kasey Palmer has revealed that there were happy tears when he told his Luton loving kids he was returning to the Hatters permanently, admitting being reunited with his family was an important factor in completing the move back to Kenilworth Road.
After weeks of speculation, the 29-year-old finally completed his permanent switch from Hull City on Saturday following an outstanding loan spell that saw him score eight goals in 10 League One appearances and helped the Hatters lift the Vertu Trophy at Wembley.
While Palmer admitted he always believed the transfer would happen, he says the chance to stop living away from his wife and three children, while at Hull City, made the move impossible to turn down.
“They [kids] probably knew first to be fair,” Palmer said of the transfer news fans all wanted. “We told the kids on holiday and then we came back and he obviously told all his friends, playing on PlayStation and all that. So I was thinking hopefully no-one leaks it.
“But yeah, the kids were really emotional when I told them. Actually, my older boy cried. My little girl was a bit like, ‘what’s going on?’ They were quite emotional, obviously happy that I’m going to be home. They obviously miss me when I’m away. So it was special.”
Palmer spent much of his time as a Hull player living away from his family, making regular trips up and down the motorway to maximise the little time he could spend at home.
He admitted the emotional toll of that arrangement became one of the toughest periods of his career.
“When I was at Hull, my family didn’t move with me, so I was spending four or five nights a week away from the kids and that was probably one of the most difficult spells in my career when kids are FaceTiming, saying, ‘why are you not home? When are you back home?’
“You know what football is like, if you lose a game, the manager gets angry, the day off is cancelled and I’m having to explain to the kids why I’m not home and they’re like, ‘why are you not coming back? [I’d say] I’ve got a match, you’re going to miss my match.’
“It’s the tough side of football. But now obviously I’ve got the opportunity to be back home where I’m not going to have that. I’m going to constantly be there. Come into training, to an environment that I’m enjoying. So, yeah, hopefully it works out perfectly. I can’t see why it won’t.”
For Palmer, returning to Bedfordshire means being present for the moments many parents take for granted.
He said: “[It’s the] little things you take for granted, just dropping the kids off to school, like today, going to pick them back up from school, dinner, all around the table.
“Whereas when I was away, it was just FaceTime, trying to catch up and on a day off, you’re rushing down the motorway. Stuff like that just becomes mentally draining, but that’s the other side that people don’t really see.
“I go to my little boys’ football every day, football training today. I can do all the little things that you kind of miss when you’re away. So, yeah, it’s special to be back home.”
The family connection to the Hatters has also grown during his loan spell, with Palmer revealing his children have fully embraced life as Luton supporters. Fans will have seen them regularly on his social media accounts decked head to toe in Hatters kit.
“They don’t take it off,” he said, adding: “They got new ones the other day, but they just constantly wear Luton kits.
“So, yeah, for them, it’s the closest club to home, so for them is special. My little boy’s friends are Luton fans. So for him, it’s unbelievable. Yeah, it’s really good.”
Although family played a huge part in his decision, Palmer stressed footballing reasons were equally compelling, insisting there was never any need for Jack Wilshere to convince him to return.
“I believe in what the gaffer’s doing, I believe in the staff, and I believe that we can get promoted this season. That’s the reason I’ve come back, and that’s what I believe.”
Asked if other clubs had shown an interest, Palmer admitted: “I think everyone knew that I didn’t enjoy being away from home. So I wanted to come kind of back home. There were a few talks, but I think, at the end of the day, I was always going choose Luton over everyone.”
Having witnessed Wilshere’s methods first-hand during the second half of last season, Palmer believes the foundations are already in place for a promotion push.
“I kind of believed in what we was doing before the run we went on,” he said last season of the 11-game unbeaten run to close out the season, plus the Vertu Trophy final victory towards the end.
“You could kind of see it, even though we weren’t getting the results, the way we were trying to play, the style of play, how other teams were treating us, you could kind of see where we were building towards,” Palmer said.
“So I think that’s what kind of made the decision easy in the summer about coming back.
“If we start the season how we ended it, then we should be flying, without putting too much pressure on the dressing room, but we’ve just got to believe in what we’re doing and believe in the staff, which we already do.”
Palmer also accepted the expectations that now come with being one of Luton’s star players after his remarkable impact on loan.
“I suppose, this year, fans would expect me to deliver and it’s for me to deliver. It’s not about shying away from that,” he said.
“I’ve just got to take the responsibility of being one of the key players now and stepping up to the plate.”
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