Thomas Tuchel says Cole Palmer “misses too many opportunities” to play for England and is frustrated after the Chelsea attacker withdrew from another national team squad.
Withdrawal from Nations League squad
The England head coach has given a strong reaction to Palmer dropping out of the squad ahead of Nations League matches against Spain, Czechia (home and away) and Croatia.
Palmer was one of five players initially named in Tuchel’s squad who withdrew from the squad on Monday.
Chelsea’s stance on muscular issue
Standard Sport understands Chelsea’s stance to be that Palmer has a muscular issue that they felt would best be managed internally at Cobham.
Palmer has played five times in the Premier League this season but only completed the full 90 minutes on four occasions. He had a summer off due to being left out of Tuchel’s 26-man squad for the World Cup and has played under Tuchel on just three occasions.
Tuchel’s response to load management claims
After suggestions Palmer had left the squad due to ‘load management’, the England head coach was asked to clear up Palmer’s situation.
“My understanding is that he plays with discomfort and pain and he cannot compete on the highest level with discomfort and pain, so he withdrew and informed us, and Chelsea informed us,” Tuchel said.
“That is my understanding. We are not managing load. That’s why we nominated him. For sure, it is a missed opportunity. It is another missed opportunity. He misses too many opportunities and I don’t blame him for it, it is just a fact. He misses way too many camps.
“I can only judge what I witness in my team. For that, you have to be in camp. If you are not in camp there is a next level to impress that you cannot achieve, because you only can do it when you are actually with me and us on the pitch. So, yes, it is a missed opportunity.”
