Chelsea fans will not be thanking Thomas Tuchel for his use of Reece James during the World Cup, but will be pleased he has allowed Cole Palmer a summer off.
James started the first two England games, and played 90 minutes in both which seemed to have a lasting effect on his fitness and has seen him pick up a hamstring injury.
The Chelsea captain is facing a race against time to feature again at the World Cup, leaving the Three Lions without a single Blues representative in their squad.
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Thomas Tuchel has done Chelsea a favour not selecting Cole Palmer for England
This is because Cole Palmer was left out of Tuchel’s 26-man squad, and England have certainly missed a player with his creativity as they struggle to break countries down.
However, Palmer hasn’t had a summer off in the last three years, and injuries have started to catch up with him and affect his game.
While this is a boost to Xabi Alonso ahead of his first season in charge of the club, it will be no immediate consolation to the Chelsea star. He will have been hoping to pick up where he left off from the Euro 2024 final.
Palmer will have no illusions that he was not picked by Tuchel based on merit. He failed to live up to his personal standards as Chelsea ended the campaign in 10th place.
Footage has already emerged though of the Englishman in action during a personal training session, where he looks sharp and scores a number of impressive goals.
Palmer has already promised Chelsea fans he will improve next season, and doing this will surely go hand-in-hand with a return to the England squad before long.
He will not have too much longer to dwell on what might have been in the summer of 2026. Before the end of July, Chelsea’s pre-season campaign will have gotten underway in Australia, and he will quickly be learning what Alonso wants from his side.
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