Northern Ireland defender reveals he was left ‘star-struck’ by Premier League legends

Kofi Balmer playing for Crystal Palace in Premier League 2

Northern Ireland defender Kofi Balmer has revealed that he was left “star-struck” by both Patrick Vieira and Roy Hodgson after working with the Premier League legends while at Crystal Palace.

The former Ballymena United and Larne star, who is still on the books at Selhurst Park, has just secured a loan move to AFC Wimbledon for the remainder of the season in a bid to take his game to the next level with more game time.

Balmer joined Palace in August 2022 and immediately made an impact under manager Vieira, one of the greatest ever midfielders to play in England with Arsenal, and was named on the bench for three Premier League games but failed to make an appearance.

Vieira would depart the club in March 2023 and was replaced by the experienced Hodgson, who has managed in the Premier League for years, with Balmer encouraged to spend the first half of the season on loan at Port Vale.

And the 23-year-old has admitted he was left with butterflies when he first got to work with the pair but has praised them for the impact they had on his young career.

"Vieira was very keen on bringing the younger players into training and the first couple of training sessions I was star-struck. Vieira is such a massive name in football. He was very keen on helping you improve every game,” Balmer shared to AFC Wimbledon on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"To get on the bench, that was amazing. Just another experience, even though I didn’t get on the pitch, just to sample the atmosphere and watch the standard. It was brilliant. For Vieira to involve me, I was feeling I was doing something right and getting there. From being on the bench and playing a couple friendlies as well, I put my