Chelsea informed England that Cole Palmer was fit for international duty before the Blues star was omitted from the latest squad. The 24-year-old was a notable absence from Thomas Tuchel's selection for the Nations League matches against Croatia and world champions Spain.
The Three Lions contacted Chelsea to establish Palmer's condition before the squad announcement on Friday. According to football.london, the club confirmed that the forward is fit and ready to be called up.
Palmer left out despite availability
Despite Palmer's availability, he was left out by Tuchel, who instead selected Borussia Dortmund's Jobe Bellingham and Fulham's Josh King. The Chelsea star has had a steady start to the season, with three goals and three assists in nine league games as Chelsea sit fourth in the Premier League table.
Palmer was called up for England duty in September but withdrew due to a “small injury”. Tuchel had said at the time that Palmer misses too many England camps and, after announcing his latest squad, said the player's absence from the international scene matters when he considers selecting players.
Tuchel explains his decision
Tuchel said on Friday: “I guess everyone is desperate to play for England and Cole is no exception. We are speaking now about a player that is not in camp. It counts when you are in camp and I just said last time that he misses too many opportunities to impress.”
He added: “It was a long camp, it was two and a half weeks and the players and the boys who were in camp built something extraordinary. That's why the credit goes to them, the trust is for them. If you are in camp, this is your chance to impress. So it's not personal and of course we will never assume that Cole is not in the mindset to come and desperate to play for his country, but the competition is on and the players who were in camp did an amazing job and kept their place.”
Palmer has played for England 14 times since his international debut in 2023. Nine of those caps came in 2024, and he has since played just three times for his country across the last two years. His team-mate Morgan Rogers has become a regular for England in the last year and has made a strong start to his debut campaign at Chelsea with five goals and one assist in nine games.
Jobe Bellingham earns call-up
The inclusion of Jobe, Jude Bellingham's younger brother, came as a surprise. Explaining the decision, Tuchel said: “Lee Carsley has been talking highly about Jobe for weeks and months, that he deserves it if there is a spot and a possibility to join and to make an impression in the first team. He had good matches and is on a good run of form with Dortmund so he deserves to be with us.”
