England star Cole Palmer opens up on Gareth Southgate frustrations during Euro 2024
Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer has opened up on how a lack of opportunities with England at last summer's Euro 2024 tournament left him frustrated with Gareth Southgate
Cole Palmer admits he was 'frustrated' with former England manager Gareth Southgate over his lack of involvement at Euro 2024.
Palmer, 22, was one of England's form players heading into the tournament off the back of a remarkable maiden season with Chelsea, where he contributed 27 goals and 15 assists in all competitions.
However, he was scarcely used by Southgate in Germany over the summer. He did not start any of the seven matches England playing, including the final, where he scored England's sole goal in a losing effort against Spain.
Southgate stood down shortly after the tournament and will be replaced officially by Thomas Tuchel in January. And Palmer has opened up on how he really felt over what most perceive as a dearth of opportunities under the previous regime.
READ MORE: FIFA confirm major change to international breaks which will anger Premier League bossesREAD MORE: Cole Palmer reveals five-word message he sent to Man City WhatsApp after joining Chelsea“It was frustrating at England, to be fair,” Palmer told GQ in a new interview. “Not to say that the players aren’t good. But just coming off the back of the season I had, the form I was in, everything I was doing was coming off.
“So I’m not playing in the first two games even when the team was struggling, it was a bit like ‘Why?’ Do you know what I mean?
“If you bring me on [in] the third game and I don’t do anything, then I can’t really say anything. I just had to try and force my way in.”
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While Palmer was disappointed not to feature more for England over the summer, he hasn't let that affect him this season, where he's continued in the same vein of form for Chelsea,
It was a desire to play more which also drove his decision to swap Manchester City for the Blues last summer; the attacking midfielder had concerns over how much he'd actually feature for Pep Guardiola's all-conquering side.
Explaining the reasons behind his decision to leave the Premier League champions, Palmer added: “I just knew I wasn’t going to play as much as I wanted to.
“Even when I was going to England [camps] with younger age groups, you had players there who were playing in the league every week. And you’re looking around thinking, ‘I can play in the league’. When you’re not playing, it’s annoying.”
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