With just a few minutes of England’s disappointing 1-1 draw against Denmark remaining, a TV camera panned to a rather forlorn Cole Palmer sitting on the substitutes’ bench.
Palmer is not one of those individuals who boasts an array of facial expressions; he can sometimes look the same after missing a chance as he does taking them. Whatever happens, the 22-year-old seems to take things in his stride. Yet, this was a rare occasion where he appeared visibly tense and rather unimpressed with what was happening.
Not for the first time in 2024, Palmer is a major talking point. His form for Chelsea last season was outstanding. Palmer ended his first campaign at Stamford Bridge with 25 goals and 15 assists (all competitions) — only Erling Haaland (27) scored more than his 22 goals in the Premier League.
Now Palmer finds himself the centre of an outcry from England fans over why the team is performing so underwhelmingly under head coach Gareth Southgate at the European Championship.
When it comes to the national team, there will always be an array of opinions on what is going wrong and how things can be fixed. Not everyone will agree and it can lead to some intense debates — but the subject of Palmer seems different. Most England supporters appear united on this one because they are questioning how a player of Palmer’s ability has not played at the tournament despite the side’s poor performances against Serbia and Denmark.
It is a strange one. In Europe’s top five leagues, Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane (44) and Paris Saint Germain’s Kylian Mbappe (34) were the only players who registered more than Palmer’s 33 goal involvements (22 goals, 11 assists) for Chelsea last season.
The numbers only tell part of the story too. Palmer’s way of playing is out of the ordinary. He provides the X-factor, the skill or pass that bewilders opponents; the kind of flair that has been missing from England’s displays.
So why has Southgate not used him? First, you have to look at the competition Palmer is up against in his two preferred positions — on the right or as a No 10. It was always going to be a hard task for him to get into the starting XI despite his showings for Chelsea.
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Bukayo Saka has understandably been preferred on the right flank by Southgate. Saka was voted England men’s player of the year for 2022 and 2023, and has become a mainstay under the manager since debuting against Wales four years ago. Saka has impressed under the pressure of two major tournaments already, Euro 2020 and the World Cup in 2022.
Palmer’s main rival for the No 10 spot with England is the might of Real Madrid’s player of the season, Jude Bellingham, as well as the Football Writers’ Association Men’s Footballer of the Year Phil Foden, even though the Manchester City playmaker’s starting position in Germany has been on the left.
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You have to take into account — and Southgate clearly is — that Palmer has only been playing regular first-team football since joining Chelsea in September. Before that, he was accustomed to watching his former club Manchester City from the sidelines most weeks.
Palmer’s rise has been stratospheric. Southgate gave him his international debut against Malta in November. His other three caps came against other low-profile opposition in North Macedonia, plus the two warm-up friendlies before Euro 2024 against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Iceland.
There were flashes of his ability in those last two matches this month. He should have added another assist to his collection against Iceland but Kane could not convert Palmer’s fine ball. But Palmer did score his first England goal from the penalty spot against Bosnia four days earlier.
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Still, what Southgate said after those two caps, in which Palmer was subbed off on each occasion, perhaps provides another clue. After the Bosnia match, England’s head coach offered a caveat to the joy of Palmer’s first international goal. “A couple of times, Cole was being too precise and if he got his shots away earlier maybe he could have got a couple,” he said.
After England’s 1-0 loss to Iceland, there was a similar aside: “He’s had a fabulous season and got himself into a couple of fabulous positions. He probably took a touch too many on both occasions.”
Palmer playing for England against Iceland (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Trust has yet to be earned because Palmer is not seeing any action as a substitute either. Saka has been replaced in both games by West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen. The 27-year-old Bowen enjoyed a very impressive season of his own by registering 30 goal involvements (20 goals, 10 assists) in all competitions. He boasts the advantage of working under Southgate for the past two years and his positive impact against Serbia — his dribble and cross led to a header from Kane being tipped onto the bar — would have encouraged Southgate to bring him on again versus Denmark. It just did not work.
Neither did it work for Eberechi Eze when he came on for Foden. Perhaps seeing Palmer demoted below the Crystal Palace attacker provoked even more questions but Palmer has rarely played on the left throughout his career. It should be noted that Eze was one of the in-form players in the final few months of the Premier League campaign.
Given the way England’s midfield was failing to keep possession, there is a strong argument to be had that Palmer would have struggled to get into the game as well. It is not as if Bowen and Eze had much service, because England were on the retreat for the most part, their passes out from the back often misplaced or fired out of play in a state of panic. So there are much bigger issues at stake than the non-selection of one outstanding individual.
However, changes are a must for the final group game against Slovenia — and surely Palmer will have to be involved at some point. If he is not, the noise from Southgate’s critics will only get louder.
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(Top photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)