Xabi Alonso reacts to Cole Palmer's surprise omission from England squad
Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has reaffirmed his faith in Cole Palmer after the attacker was a surprise omission from the latest England squad.
Thomas Tuchel reiterated his concern that Palmer “misses too many opportunities to impress” when he announced his squad for the November international break on Friday morning.
Palmer withdrew from the squad for the October window and Tuchel criticised him at the time for missing “too many camps with injuries”, and the German has opted to keep faith with the majority of the squad he picked then, rather than reinstate the 24-year-old. Palmer has not played for England since March and missed out on the World Cup squad after struggling with injuries last season.
Speaking to media before Chelsea’s trip to Sunderland this Sunday, Alonso said he had not spoken to Palmer about the England squad for this Nations League campaign but added that he was “very happy” with his player.
Chelsea informed the England set-up that Palmer was fit and available for selection, and he has made a strong start to the season, starting each of the Blues’ nine Premier League games and registering five goals and three assists in 11 games across all competitions. He has also formed a successful attacking partnership with Morgan Rogers, who has made the Three Lions squad.
Tuchel said he had enough No 10s for this round of fixtures, with Morgan Gibbs-White, Eberechi Eze, and Jude Bellingham selected as well as Rogers, while versatile players Josh King and Jobe Bellingham have been called up for the first time.
Alonso said: “We are very happy with Cole. I think he is enjoying his game, he is connecting very well with the other attackers. He is helping the team with developing and improving what we want to achieve, knowing that everything takes time but I am very happy with his quality, his attitude and the impact he is having on the rest of the team.”
Asked whether he had discussed Palmer’s ambitions to get back into the England squad with him or any regrets over his decision to pull out from the last camp, Alonso said: “We haven't spoken about that. We are focussed on our things, on Chelsea things and how to do better and how to help him and how he can become more and more influential on the game. Those are our topics to talk.
“We speak about Chelsea. We have enough on our plate. My impact area is my control area and what we talk about.”
Alonso also dismissed concerns that the decision to omit Palmer would be a test of his character, saying: “He needs to focus on his thing - and his thing is to play good football and enjoy his game with us, with Chelsea.”
