Lee Carsley makes Cole Palmer central to England plan

Chelsea player can expect a big role under the England interim manager after not starting a single game for Gareth Southgate at Euro 2024

Lee Carsley is intent on making Cole Palmer central to his England plans as he prepares to name his squad for the Nations League games against Greece and Finland.
Palmer will be named in the England squad and, barring suffering an injury while playing for Chelsea at the weekend, there are no concerns he will pull out with muscle fatigue as he did for Carsley’s first two games in charge.
Chelsea left Palmer out of their squad for the league phase of the Europa Conference League and the attacking midfielder has proved his full fitness in recent weeks.
Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Conference League game against Gent on Thursday night, head coach Enzo Maresca said: “We played some games without Cole, but for us, Cole is something extra that you need.
“We also need to think a bit to protect some players. They need that. There is a reason behind it and I think Cole needs to be protected.”
Palmer, who has been in incredible form, can expect a big role under England interim manager Carsley after not starting a single match under Gareth Southgate at the European Championship.
Maresca claimed Palmer was the best player in the Premier League following his four-goal performance against Brighton and the 22-year-old has more goals and assists than any other player since the start of last season.
Despite the fact Carsley will also have Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham, who were also unavailable for the first two Nations League games, to pick from this time, he wants to make Palmer a big part of his team.
Palmer won the Under-21 European Championship with Carsley, who has made it clear that he wants to reward good form during his time as England senior manager.
That leaves Manchester City full-back Kyle Walker, who has suffered an indifferent start to the season, sweating on winning his place back in the England squad.
Walker was left out of Carsley’s first squad and Trent Alexander-Arnold took full advantage by producing two good performances in the victories over Republic of Ireland and Finland.
There has also been more off-field controversy around Walker, who has gone through a turbulent period in his private life.
Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, who pulled out of the Ireland and Finland games, is expected to be included among the strikers, with Tottenham Hotspur’s Dominic Solanke also hoping to win a place in the squad.
James Maddison, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, has said he will take great “satisfaction” from proving his doubters wrong as he pushes for an England recall this week.
Maddison feels he is currently in the best shape of his career and has made it clear that he is targeting a spot in Lee Carsley’s latest squad, which will be announced on Thursday.
The 27-year-old has earned seven England caps but was not included in Gareth Southgate’s final squad for the European Championships in the summer.
Maddison has since enjoyed an excellent start to the season with Spurs, who face Ferencvaros in the Europa League on Thursday, and has revealed that he is fuelled by a “hunger” to answer his critics.
“I want to be in the squad,” Maddison said. “It’s simple. Every England player will tell you that. I know Lee Carsley, I worked with him at Coventry and he was my assistant with the England Under-21s under Aidy Boothroyd.
“I feel really good at the minute. I feel as fit as I have ever felt, really. I feel like my fitness is at an optimum level.
“Having a break over the summer, not going to the Euros, it does help. I know it has been spoken about with Erling Haaland, how he has had a summer off and he hit the ground running, and I feel the same. I feel really good. I feel confident. I feel alive on the pitch at the minute.
“I always say the same clichéd thing when I get asked about the England stuff: if I just take care of my performances for Spurs, which I feel like I’m doing at the minute to a high level, then the other stuff will take care of itself, hopefully.”
Maddison said in the summer that he was “devastated” not to make England’s final squad for Euro 2024, adding that he felt he could “bring something different” to the national team.
Speaking in Budapest on Wednesday, he said: “Whenever in life you have setbacks, it can go one of two ways. It is how you deal with that.
“You can either let it swallow you up a little bit and feel sorry for yourself and go down that route. Or you can respond in the right way, the only way, to get back to being successful, getting back in the England squad and playing at the top level for Spurs again.
“I always want to prove people wrong. Any sort of doubters, people who question, I always want to prove them wrong. That is where I get some of my hunger from, wanting to be the best version of myself for Tottenham, my team-mates and people close to me – but also to prove people wrong who doubt me. I get satisfaction from that.”
Spurs will face Ferencvaros, the Hungarian champions, without captain Son Heung-min for the second successive game after he missed Sunday’s victory at Manchester United with a hamstring injury. Left-back Destiny Udogie is also unavailable after he was forced out of the game at Old Trafford.