Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso responded to British broadcaster Piers Morgan calling out attacker Cole Palmer for missing England games after Palmer made himself unavailable for the Three Lions’ four UEFA Nations League games during the extended September-October international break.
After being overlooked for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, Palmer was called up by Thomas Tuchel for the Nations League games, only for the attacker to pull out citing injury.
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Morgan accused Palmer of being a ‘bottlejob,’ but Alonso paid no credence to that:
“I don’t know the comment, and I don’t know the guy,” the Spaniard said when asked about Morgan’s comments on Palmer (as per The Guardian).
Alonso said that Palmer had an issue ahead of the Blues’ Premier League defeat to Brentford and needs meticulous management:
“The most important thing for Cole is to be fully fit, that he enjoys his game, that he is feeling OK. Whenever he is not, like in the Brentford game, we could see that he was struggling. He’s committed but he needs to be fully fit to play. We need him – the club and the national team.”
“Now he’s fine. He’s been feeling better this week. We use the first two weeks for him to recover. It’s a little bit from the pubalgia he had.”
Morgan had said about Palmer on Football Uncensored (via talkSPORT):
“I think he’s a bottle job, Palmer. I think he’s a bottle job. Talk about drinking the Kool-Aid. That’s a player, to me, who is massively squandering his obviously brilliant ability. The fact that he is so apparently lacking in dedication and commitment to his country.
“I think any player who doesn’t give 100 per cent to his country, which is clearly what Tuchel is saying about Palmer, you’ve got to just think, what’s wrong with them?”
Palmer has scored four times for Chelsea this season.
What’s next for Cole Palmer’s Chelsea?
Chelsea have had a strong start to the 2026-27 season under Xabi Alonso, who arrived at the Stamford Bridge helm after stints at Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Real Madrid.
Cole Palmer scored and assisted as the Blues kickstarted the Alonso era with a 3-2 Premier League win at Fulham in August. The Englishman was also on the scoresheet in the next game as the Blues overcame Brighton & Hove Albion 4-3 at home.
Either side of drawing blanks in the league defeats at Arsenal and Brentford, Palmer registered an assist as Alonso’s side drew 2-2 at home to promoted Hull City. The Blues next take on AFC Bournemouth at home in the Premier League tonight (October 10).
Edited by Bhargav
