Former Premier League manager Alan Pardew has criticised England boss Thomas Tuchel for publicly highlighting Cole Palmer’s withdrawal from the national team, describing the move as unnecessary.
Palmer was recalled to England’s squad after missing the 2026 World Cup but later withdrew from the Nations League fixtures alongside Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford and Tino Livramento. Palmer had played the full 90 minutes in Chelsea’s 3-0 defeat to Brentford before pulling out with an injury.
It was Palmer’s second withdrawal from an England squad since Tuchel became manager in 2025. Tuchel subsequently pointed to the player’s repeated absences from training camps as limiting his chances to impress.
Tuchel said: “I only want to judge him based on what I see with my own eyes and his performance for the team, and to do that, he has to participate in training. If he’s not in the training camp, he won’t get further opportunities to prove himself.”
On Palmer’s latest withdrawal, Tuchel added: “As far as I understand, he has been playing with discomfort and pain and cannot compete at the highest level in that condition, so he withdrew. Both the player and Chelsea informed us.”
Pardew believes the public comments placed unnecessary pressure on the Chelsea forward.
Speaking on talkSPORT’s The Final Word, he said: “In this matter, Palmer is probably the one who suffers the most. I think Thomas has put him on the spot a bit.”
Pardew added: “He said Palmer hasn’t participated in enough training sessions, but was it really necessary to emphasize that? Everyone noticed. This will put a lot of pressure on the lad, and I think it’s completely unnecessary.”
Tuchel later described Palmer’s absence as a “missed opportunity”, saying the forward had missed too many England camps because of injuries.
