Cole Palmer’s England Withdrawal Could Be a Blessing as Morgan Gibbs-White Gets His Chance

Cole Palmer’s 2026 World Cup snub was hardly a shock. Granted, the Chelsea man ended the season strongly, ultimately finishing the campaign with 10 league goals to his name. However, injury issues restricted Palmer to just 24 league outings as he failed to hit the heights of previous seasons.

A summer off, though, looked to have benefitted Palmer. He started the 2026/27 season well, netting two goals and providing two assists in his opening five league appearances under Xabi Alonso.

And his form for the Blues wasn’t lost on England boss Thomas Tuchel. The German recalled Palmer to his squad for upcoming UEFA Nations League outings against Spain, Czechia and Croatia. In all likelihood, he would have started at least once over the coming weeks.

However, the Chelsea star withdrew from the England squad earlier this week. Palmer was one of five, including Declan Rice and Marcus Rashford, to pull out of international duty. He’ll spend the next couple of weeks in the capital ahead of the return to domestic action next month in a bid to manage his workload.

Morgan Gibbs-White vs Cole Palmer Comparison

Is that such a bad thing for England, though? He hasn’t made an appearance for the national team since a 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Andorra last summer. The 24-year-old hardly covered himself in glory in that narrow victory against the European minnows.

Is Gibbs-White better than Palmer?

And besides, Palmer’s withdrawal means Morgan Gibbs-White has been called into the squad. If anything, the former’s exit is a blessing for the Three Lions. When the England squad was announced last week, Gibbs-White’s omission was a major talking point. This is a player who has scored one and provided two assists in the 2026/27 Premier League campaign.

The latter should realistically be higher. After all, only Pascal Gross (15) has created more chances than the Nottingham Forest man (14) in the Premier League this season. The pair are the only players to have created at least five chances in a single Premier League game this campaign.

No player has created more big chances (5). Only two have made more accurate through balls (2). 

And yet, it wasn’t enough to convince Tuchel he warrants an England spot, at least not initially. “It makes no sense to nominate three, four or five number 10s, it just does not help anyone,” Tuchel said when asked about the Forest skipper.

"We can see the form that Morgan is in. And he ended the season very, very strongly and was the key player for Forest to not be relegated. And we can see him stepping up now."

Tuchel’s comments, though, highlight an issue with his assessment of Gibbs-White. Ask any Forest fan and they’ll tell you that their captain is anything but a number 10. Yes, he’s been starting in the role under Oliver Glasner this season, the Austrian favouring a 3-4-2-1 setup at the City Ground.

However, there is more to Gibbs-White’s game than just playing as a creative star in a team. Indeed, he can operate as a deeper-lying midfielder, playing a number eight role if needs must. Under Vitor Pereira, he shone from the left flank as the Tricky Trees staved off relegation.

He must have seen Eberechi Eze, who has registered just 85 minutes of league time and, for all intents and purposes, struggled since moving to Arsenal, and wondered what more he has to do to secure a spot in the England squad. While fate presented Gibbs-White with the chance to consolidate a national team place, fact is he should have been in the side from the outset.

Off-ball work key

And that is down the work-rate off the ball combined with his ability to provide for teammates. The 26-year-old is averaging one tackle per 90 this season. He’s committing 0.8 fouls per 90. The Forest star is more than capable at winning possession as he is at disrupting play.

Perhaps his somewhat sub-par distribution for a team that would see far less of the ball than England weighed on Tuchel’s mind. An 85.1% pass accuracy from 34.8 passes per 90 isn’t great for a side as reactive as Glasner’s. Granted, as the heartbeat of the team, a player to try and make things happen, Gibbs-White’s consistency to pick out a teammate regularly was always going to come under scrutiny.

Then again, he’s the shining light for a team that has worked tirelessly to make things happen. England would stand to benefit from a player of Gibbs-White’s ilk, one who understands the trials and tribulations that come with playing on the backfoot.

Look at England against Argentina over the summer. They had just 12% possession between Anthony Gordon’s 55th minute goal and Lautaro Martinez’s winning header in the 92nd minute.

A midfielder experienced in the demands that come with playing reactive football would have helped England considerably.

Ultimately, Tuchel came to his senses and called on Gibbs-White. Now’s the time to prove he deserves to be a regular in the side. Given his 2026 showings, however, the Forest star can be expected to grab the opportunity with both hands and prove he warrants a Three Lions place ahead of the likes of Palmer and Eze.