With Cole Palmer facing a summer without World Cup football, Chelsea’s star man may now have the same complaints that Enzo Maresca did at Stamford Bridge.
Thomas Tuchel’s England selections caused surprise across the nation, with a number of top stars missing out on a place.
There was no room for Lewis Hall despite an excellent season which has seen him return onto Chelsea’s radar for a possible summer transfer.
Has Cole Palmer been wronged? Or is it just deserved for his poor form?🤔
Thomas Tuchel explains Cole Palmer snub from England's World Cup squad
Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images
Cole Palmer will have similar complaints about minute management at Chelsea that Enzo Maresca had
Only Reece James has been selected from the Chelsea squad, meaning Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah have all been left at home.
Colwill’s exclusion can be put down to his lack of match fitness. He has started just two games coming off the back of a serious knee injury suffered last summer.
Palmer on the other hand has been available throughout most of 2026, although struggled significantly to find regular form as Chelsea’s season spiralled out of control.
Brentford FC v Chelsea FC - Premier League
Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images
While being available, the attacker’s minutes have been managed, and it has become more frequent that he comes off before the 90 minutes are up.
The efforts to keep him fit have ultimately not allowed him to build up a rhythm this season, likely behind Tuchel’s decision to leave him out.
Chelsea fans will be well aware that the saga which saw Enzo Maresca decide to leave the club came from the control being taken away from him by the higher ups at Stamford Bridge.
This included being instructed to manage players’ minutes, which the Italian felt was costing his side in games.
Where will Chelsea be in the table by 6pm on Sunday afternoon?😬
7th and 8th are the European places!
Chelsea Premier League table on final day of the season
Via – GRV Media
After the Liam Rosenior nightmare which followed, Chelsea have the chance to put things right with Xabi Alonso at the helm.
They have convinced him to join with the title of manager rather than head coach, hinting that he will be handed more power than those before him.
Alonso sees Palmer as untouchable, and could be the perfect manager to get the best out of him again.
This won’t be much consolation to the England international today, who is likely to be cursing his luck after a nightmare campaign at Stamford Bridge.
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