Thanks to his excellent performance at Chelsea, Cole Palmer was called up by coach Gareth Southgate for the national team training camp in March. Joining Chelsea in the summer of last year, the 21-year-old midfielder quickly integrated, scoring 11 goals and providing 8 assists in the Premier League, more than any other teammate.

However, surprisingly, Palmer did not play a single minute for the England national team in the past two crucial friendly matches, even though Southgate prioritized giving opportunities to young players and frequent substitutes. The former Man City star was not registered for the match against Brazil. In the match against Belgium, Palmer was registered but remained entirely on the bench.

Explaining Palmer's absence in the past two matches for the Three Lions, coach Southgate revealed that the Chelsea star had suffered a minor injury. At the national team level, Palmer faces fierce competition in the attacking positions, but Southgate believes the 21-year-old star still has plenty of opportunities to participate in EURO 2024.

Former Middlesbrough manager shared his thoughts on Palmer's case: "I said there would be fierce competition in the squad. It's unfortunate that Palmer missed so many training sessions that we couldn't use him in the match against Belgium. In the situation requiring substitutions, I chose Gordon and Maddison, but Palmer is still in the plan [for EURO 2024]."

Similarly, Southgate revealed that Jack Grealish is expected to remain part of the squad for the trip to Germany in the summer despite not being present in this training camp due to injury. This season, Grealish has not made much contribution to Man City due to injuries and a decline in form.

At the beginning of June, England will play two more friendly matches against Bosnia and Iceland before starting their EURO 2024 campaign in Germany. In this tournament, the Three Lions are in the same group as Serbia, Denmark, and Slovenia.