Gary Lineker has just made a pretty bold claim about Chelsea’s Cole Palmer after his eye-catching performance for England at Euro 2024.
Finally, Cole Palmer has been given his first appearance at this summer’s Euros tournament. He replaced Bukayo Saka on the right wing in the 71st minute of England’s draw against Slovenia on Tuesday night.
England yet again lacked a ruthlessness going forward during the 0-0 stalemate with Slovenia, albeit the result was enough to secure top spot in Group C. In fact, Gareth Southgate’s side only scored two goals in their three group stage matches.
If you are looking for positives for the Three Lions, the substitution of Palmer is certainly one. Chelsea’s versatile attacker injected a threat going forward with his type of passing and general intent.
Gary Lineker claim about Chelsea star
First of all, Gary Lineker singled out Chelsea’s Palmer for his quality England cameo at Euro 2024 this week.
Lineker followed that up by saying that there’s a chance Palmer could be the best English youngster around right now. We wouldn’t necessarily disagree with him, but it’s a big claim when you remember the squad includes stars such as Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka.
“There were downsides but I think there were real positives, particularly I thought when Cole Palmer came on,” Lineker told The Rest Is Football.
“We know we’ve got a lot of talented young players, but this kid he might well be the best of the lot. I don’t know we shall see. I don’t want to put too much pressure on him, but I don’t think he cares about pressure.”
Play Cole Palmer in the knockouts
Some of England’s players, particularly the attack-minded ones, have a looked a bit lethargic so far at the tournament. You’d suspect they won’t get away with it the deeper the competition goes.
In Palmer, England have got a fresh and quality forward to bring into the XI. It’s pretty obvious that he won’t be overwhelmed by the situation, too. There’s a good reason nicknamed ‘Cold Palmer’!
Let’s hope that Southgate is brave enough to mix it up and start the Chelsea ace in Sunday’s last-16 match.