Graeme Souness has just made a prediction about what he expects to happen with Chelsea and England star Cole Palmer at this summer’s Euro 2024 tournament.
It surely came as no surprise to anyone when Cole Palmer, 22, was included in England’s squad for the Euros.
The left-footed attacker is in Germany for his first major international competition at senior level, with the Three Lions beginning the group stages on Sunday against Serbia.
Palmer is with Gareth Southgate’s group fresh off a stunning debut season in Chelsea colours. He actually scored 25 goals and made 15 assists in just 45 appearances for the Blues.
Graeme Souness prediction for Chelsea star
Graeme Souness has suggested he doesn’t think Chelsea’s Palmer will begin the Euros tournament in England’s starting line-up.
However, he’s predicting the creative attacker will force his way into the side as the competition progresses.
When discussing Palmer on Up Front’s YouTube channel, Souness said: “I think he’ll come on as a sub and it will be very hard to leave him out beyond that. I think he’s on fire.
“If what we’ve seen from Cole Palmer for the last nine months, if that’s his level of performance, he’ll come on as a sub early in the tournament and he’ll take some dislodging. That’s what I think will happen.”
Cole Palmer’s England record
It’s interesting to note that Palmer only has four senior England caps to his name. This includes the two appearances he made earlier in June during warm-up matches before the Euros.
The playmaker has a decent record with England at various younger age levels, including five goals in 15 matches for the Under-21s. In fact, he played a big role in the Young Lions winning the European Under-21 Championship last summer.
Let’s hope Palmer is blooded into the main England XI while he is in such a rich vein of form.
Of course, there’s extreme competition for places in attacking areas, but we agree that the Chelsea man could emerge as a key figure during the tournament.