Stan Collymore is always full of forthright opinions, and often they’re pretty rogue.
But his latest take, emitted in his exclusive column for Caughtoffside, is something any Blues fan can agree with.
He put his marker down and said Cole Palmer has to start for England at the Euros, calling the youngster “special” and saying the decision to leave him out of the squad for the friendlies in the next fortnight is just wrong.
“I know Southgate has included Marcus Rashford and Anthony Gordon, but I would go with Cole Palmer. And I know Palmer plays on the right for Chelsea, but he’s left-footed so can definitely do a job on that side of the pitch.
“He’s one of the most in-form attackers in Europe too so why not be brave and give him the chance? — I would — the kid looks special.”
We agree that Palmer has to at least be in the squad, but given Southgate’s famous resistance to mixing things up, and given that this is really the first international break since Palmer has established he’s a top quality Premier League player, we’re not at all surprised he’s not been included.
Sadly for him, it’s also the final set of games before the tournament, so no matter how well he does with Chelsea in the final months of the season, it seems unlikely he cracks the squad for Euro 2024.
