Darren Bent has shared whether or not he’d give Chelsea’s Cole Palmer his first minutes of Euro 2024 when England face Slovenia on Tuesday night.
England play against Slovenia this evening in their final group stage match.
Gareth Southgate’s team have already guaranteed progress to the knockout rounds, but they’re still in a fight to top the group.
For Cole Palmer, it’s been a frustrating start to the Euros tournament. He’s not got off the bench and has been an unused substitute in England’s two matches so far.
When you consider how good the 21-year-old attacker was for Chelsea last season, it’s remarkable he’s spending his summer on the bench so far. This is a player that scored 25 goals and made 15 assists in 45 games for the Blues.
Would Darren Bent start Cole Palmer?
TalkSPORT pundit Darren Bent has claimed that he would bring Chelsea’s Palmer into the England XI for the final group fixture.
“On the left I’m going to go Cole Palmer,” Bent said on talkSPORT.
“I think Cole Palmer, for the season that he’s had, 27 goals [in all competitions], I think he deserves a minute at some point so yeah I’m going to go Cole Palmer on that left-hand side.”
Darren Bent’s England line-up to play Slovenia:
Pickford
Walker Stones Guehi Trippier
Bellingham Rice
Saka Foden Palmer
Kane
England must use Chelsea talisman
Surely, England have got to find a way to give Palmer some minutes at the Euros.
England’s attackers have looked pretty flat for nearly two whole matches. In contrast, The Chelsea Chronicle is struggling to remember a time from last season when Palmer went back-to-back games without doing at least something impactful.
Even if there’s not room for the Chelsea playmaker in the XI, he’s simply got to be used as an early substitute in the second period.
Palmer has good practice in lifting a struggling team to new heights. Perhaps he can provide the spark to reignite this tournament for England.