Dundee new boy Seb Palmer-Houlden was mixing it with two World Cup winners last season – now he’s determined to delight the Dee.
The 20-year-old has begun his fourth loan spell of his fledgling career after signing a season-long deal at Dens Park.
And he’s keen to kick on after his first full season in senior football last term that saw him play 89 minutes directly against Rafael Varane and Lisandro Martinez.
So what are the Dark Blues getting from the Bristol City loanee?
Record
The young striker has been on the books at Ashton Gate since he was eight-years-old but is yet to make a first-team appearance for the English Championship side.
He’s been out on loan to non-league clubs Chippenham Town and Yeovil Town where he didn’t find the net.
Last season, though, he made an impact in League Two at Newport County where he scored nine times in 42 appearances.
Thirty-one of those appearances were starts with the youngster trusted by Exiles boss Graham Coughlan to lead the line alongside top scorer Will Evans.
A handful of matches saw him play as a wide forward but largely he was through the middle.
Palmer-Houlden finished as the club’s second top scorer last term as they finished 18th in the table.
County had been pushing for a play-off place but finished the season with eight straight defeats and Coughlan left the club at the end of the campaign.
Palmer-Houlden scored every 310 minutes last season and picked up three assists on the way to winning Newport’s Young Player of the Year award.
He also earned a new deal at Ashton Gate running to 2027.
Style
Palmer-Houlden is a striker who wants to use his pace to find a route to goal, describing himself to Dee TV as: “A high-intensity runner who likes to get in behind and I like to score goals.
“I can score right foot, left foot and header but I just love running!”
His style has developed through a successful spell with Bristol City’s U/21 squad before heading out to gain crucial experience at Chippenham and Yeovil.
He only played a handful of times for those National League clubs before making his mark at Newport last term.
Man U
And he points to an FA Cup tie at home to the giants of Manchester United as the high point of a successful personal season at Newport.
The League Two minnows hosted Erik ten Hag’s side as they struggled for form in the Premier League.
This was no second string against a lower-league side – five-time Champions League winner Casemiro was joined by Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho, Luke Shaw and Rasmus Hojlund in the starting XI.
Palmer-Houlden joined forces with Will Evans to take on two World Cup winning defenders in Varane and Martinez.
And Newport almost shocked the Red Devils – after going 2-0 behind early on, Newport fought back to level terms on 47 minutes before goals by Antony and Hojlund saved United’s blushes.
On his loan spells, Palmer-Houlden said: “I took them all as different learning experiences – like the physicality of the game going from U/21s football to men’s football was a big step up.
“Then non-league to League Two and playing against Manchester United in the FA Cup was just a great learning experience.
“Man United was brilliant. It was a tough game but I think we did really well to get to 2-2. We were the better team for 10 minutes but then they showed their quality.
“Playing against people like Varane and Martinez, two World Cup winners, you learn a lot in terms of how to battle against them and how they think.
“It was a really good experience.”
Dundee
So why Dundee?
“I just can’t wait to get started and hit the ground running,” the frontman added.
“It’s a great move for me, the Scottish Premiership is a great league and when I heard that Dundee were interested I jumped at the opportunity.
“I developed a lot as a player last season at Newport County and I want to continue that this season at Dundee.
“Can’t wait to get started and to see what happens this season.
“I hope I can improve the squad and give competition to the strikers here and we’ll see what happens.”
Conversation