Cole Palmer pulled out of international duty this month despite having been called up by boss Thomas Tuchel but the Chelsea playmaker has received backing from PFA chief executive Maheta Molango
Cole Palmer
Cole Palmer had to pull out of England duty(Image: Getty Images)
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PFA chief Maheta Molanga believes Cole Palmer’s England absence is down to a 'sick' football calendar in a direct response to Thomas Tuchel. The Chelsea playmaker was initially included in the Three Lions’ squad for the first international break of the campaign.
But he was forced to pull out, having also been a notable absence for Tuchel’s World Cup selection. And PFA chief executive Molanga has defended the playmaker, suggesting that his absence is down to a packed fixture list, instead of an issue from Palmer’s side.
"When England see five players who need to withdraw when the single most proud moment a player has is to be called up for the national team, you just ask yourself, what’s wrong about the industry?" Molango said.
"You see people like Cole Palmer, someone who would have played four consecutive summers in a row had he gone to the World Cup, and you wonder why is he missing?
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"He’s missing because he’s a victim of the calendar and that’s something that needs to absolutely trigger the alarm bells.
"For those who think that it’s only a matter in England, then look at (other recent withdrawals from European teams) Kai Havertz, Brian Brobbey and Kylian Mbappe and ask yourself – is that really the football that we want?
"Is it the football where the people who make us dream just cannot perform? For me it’s very worrying.
"What we’ve seen over the last few years is a system that’s sick, that’s ill, because it ultimately revolves around obtaining votes and power consolidation.
Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel gave a scathing assesment of Cole Palmer's availability earlier this month(Image: Getty Images)
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"It’s a defeat for football that people like Cole Palmer and Phil Foden miss out on the World Cup. They’re the people that you pay to see. People don’t pay for the journeyman Maheta Molango. People pay to see those type of guys.
"I want to see them perform at their peak and it shouldn’t be the survival of the fittest. Unfortunately, both on the male and female sides, that’s not what we’re seeing.”
Molango’s comments come just a week after Tuchel criticised Palmer for not being available for England. He said: “He misses too many camps. That’s the overall headline.
“We have a lot of invitations and he couldn’t make this one. It is what it is. I am not ready to focus on players who are not here. The players that are here have my full attention.
“It is a missed opportunity. He [Palmer] misses too many opportunities. I don’t blame him for it. It is just a fact. He misses way too many camps with injuries, and I only want to rely on what I witness within my team, and for that you have to be in camp.”