Palmer: Chelsea switch put me on fast track for England

Cole Palmer believes his move to Chelsea last summer fast-tracked his progress into the England squad and put him on course for his first major tournament.

The 22-year-old was named in Gareth Southgate’s 33-man provisional squad for Euro 2024 and he is expected to make the final cut of 26 after a stellar campaign which saw him named Premier League young player of the year.

Palmer left Manchester City after making 41 appearances in just over three seasons, although just 13 of those were starts with only three coming in the Premier League.

However, following his £42.5million (€50m) move to Stamford Bridge he was one of the standout performers and his 22 Premier League goals were bettered only by Erling Haaland, with Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins the only player with more assists.

Asked whether he thought taking the bold decision to leave City for Chelsea had boosted his England chances Palmer, who has already made 48 appearances for the Blues, told reporters: “Yeah, probably.

“What was it, three months? (from joining Chelsea to making his senior international debut).

“It has helped because more game time means you get seen more. I just wanted to play. I got more game time. I think my first season has justified that decision.”

Palmer joined a Chelsea squad which is still in the infancy of its development but he believes being among players all of a similar age has allowed for greater growth, particularly for himself.

“We’re all of a similar age so we can get on with each other. More game time also means more responsibility. I’ve had to take more responsibility,” added Palmer, who was at former club Wythenshawe FC after teaming up with Toshiba TV to offer grassroots clubs the chance to win tech and clubhouse upgrades to inspire future generation of footballers to follow their dreams.

“When you’re at City there are a lot of senior players and the responsibility usually falls on them.”

Palmer feels relationships within a squad help his development and he is looking forward to forging successful partnerships with some of the younger members of the squad.

“I’ve played with Phil (Foden) before obviously at City and everyone knows how good Jude (Bellingham) is so that’s exciting,” he said.

“Off the pitch I can talk to Phil and on the pitch I think we played well together, even in training so it’s going to help.”

Palmer scored a lot of his goals in a false nine position for Chelsea but competition in England’s attacking third is fierce with the likes of Foden, Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon and James Maddison all vying for places alongside Bellingham and Harry Kane, which is why Palmer is happy to fit in wherever he can.

“Wherever the manager puts me, I feel comfortable playing in many positions so wherever I get put or asked to play I don’t mind,” he said.

Palmer spent the last Euros watching England’s matches in a pub not far from where he began his footballing journey as a young boy for Wythenshawe FC but this time around he will have a chance to directly impact their performances.

“Everyone has seen we can get to the semi-finals and final so hopefully we can win it,” he said.

“I think people will always expect you to win things as we have some of the best players in the world. I understand why they expect it.

“Hopefully, the kids I’ve met (at Wythenshawe) can see a local kid living his dream and want to follow in my footsteps.”

Watch Republic of Ireland v Sweden in Euro 2025 qualifying on Friday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on an extended Game On with 2fm

Watch Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid in the Champions League final on Saturday from 7.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app

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