21/03/2025
In this photo we can see a very young Cole Palmer, but today we will talk about the boy hugging him. Jeremy Wisten, a boy born in 2002 in Malawi and raised in England who at just 18 years old was found lifeless in the family home in the suburbs of Manchester. He had recently left Manchester City, which he had joined in 2016 and where he had played for 3 seasons in the youth team, sharing the locker room with Palmer. Unfortunately, the first investigations spoke of su***de.
He had not been able to cope with the "no" from Manchester City, which had left him as a free agent and left him without a team at 17, in June 2019. In January 2018 he had suffered a serious knee injury, had been out for 5 months and then returned. Later, City had informed him that he would not be confirmed.
Unfortunately, the first investigations spoke of su***de.
He had not survived Manchester City’s refusal to sign him as a free agent and left him without a club at the age of 17 in June 2019. In January 2018 he had suffered a serious knee injury, was out for five months and then returned. City later informed him that he would not be retained. After being left as a free agent and being rejected by City, he had been unable to find a team that believed in him.
Manchester City paid tribute to him the following day. But Wisten’s death tore a wedge through English football.
Manchester City’s sports psychologists had carried out mental health assessments on Wisten both before and after he was informed he would be released by the club, but no concerns about his mental wellbeing were raised in any of the assessments. Despite this, City launched a review of their player release process, with youth development director Jason Wilcox saying “it would be extremely remiss not to review our processes and try to improve where we can” following Wisten’s death. In the wake of the incident, Manchester City introduced player exit surveys, as well as creating a “parent portal” to improve communication between the club, players and their families.