Joe Cole doing punditry.(Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Joe Cole says his England team would have Chelsea player used as a ‘dual 10’

By Simon Phillips - 11th Aug 2025, 01:00pm

Chelsea legend Joe Cole has been speaking about the England national side this week and of course, that involves Blues players.

The season hasn’t even restarted yet but already we are thinking ahead to some upcoming international matches.

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When there is international games though, there is Chelsea involvement to speak about, and we are talking about one of them today.

Cole was a hero at Chelsea of course because he was a maverick player that made things happen. A lot like how Cole Palmer plays now I guess.

And Cole has been speaking about Palmer as he talks about how he would lineup his England side if he was the manager, and it very much involves getting all the best players on the pitch at the same time, which is really needed.

Palmer to start with Bellingham?

Cole Palmer in preseason. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

With England just weeks away from restarting their World Cup qualifying campaign with a home tie against Andorra on September 6, TNT Sports caught up with an ex-England midfielder who was often at the heart of a similar discussion, Joe Cole.

“Tactically it’s a blessing and a challenge because you’ve got so many players in that [attacking midfield] position,” Cole said of the decision facing Tuchel.

“You could play with two 10s, you could play with Bellingham and Palmer. Then Foden can come into that mix as well. So many players, [Eberechi] Eze, so many players.

“My team for England would have Cole Palmer and Jude Bellingham in the midfield as a dual 10, and I’d work around that. But great players need to play.”

Could work well

I think this could end up working well to be honest and I’d love to see it in action, whether I get to or not is another thing.