With Lee Carsley opting to start Cole Palmer in an attacking midfield role for England’s Nations League encounter with Greece, much attention was quickly about how to get the best out of the Three Lions side with him involved – and why he could be such an important player.
Palmer was named England’s men’s player of the year recently – though was yet to even collect ten senior caps at the time, with the fixture against the Greeks bringing up his double figures.
But it’s only the start of a journey which must make him a massive part of the plans, be it with Carlsey in charge on a permanent basis or not. That’s the opinion of former Manchester United captain Roy Keane, who singled out Palmer’s mindset and technical qualities as the keys to making him such an impressive performer.
“He’s exciting, he’s brilliant, it’s his mindset. He could walk into any dressing room and hold his own,” Keane said ahead of the match against Greece on ITV.
“He does on the pitch what very few can do – you’d pay to go watch him. A brilliant player. I bet when he walked into the Chelsea dressing room [last year] he thought, ‘I’m the best player. But he can back it up.
“He’s streetwise, he’s had brilliant coaching, you can see he knows the game inside out with his decision making and final pass.”
Fellow pundit Ian Wright similarly hailed Palmer’s ability on the ball and capacity to set the rhythm for his team – and insisted that along with England’s other talented attacking options – including Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham – the future was bright for the national team.
“He never seems rushed, never wastes a pass, doesn’t hang on it too long.
“There’s enough for people to move into spaces for us to make this work [with all the attackers on the pitch].”