He’s Very Intelligent –Pedro Hails Palmer

Chelsea forward Joao Pedro has called Cole Palmer an intelligent player.

Palmer was left out of Thomas Tuchel’s 26‑man England squad for the 2026 World Cup after a season marred by injury and a decline in form relative to his competitors for the same position.

Read Also:Unity Cup: Why Chelle Should Have Invited Nwabali To Camp –Etafia

Speaking about his omission, the Brazilian star told the club’s website that Palmer would have joined the Brazil squad without hesitation.

“He’s very intelligent. He’s magic,” said the Chelsea striker.

“I said to him before, ‘I didn’t think you were that good.’ And he looked at me. I said, ‘Yeah, but now because I play with him, he’s different.’

“I said to him, ‘Why don’t you come to Brazil? The number 10 there, mate. No problem.’ Because in Brazil, we don’t have this guy.

“If you watch us, we play 4‑2‑4. We don’t have a number 10.”

The number‑10 slots will be taken by Jude Bellingham, Eberechi Eze and Morgan Rogers, who have been in far better form than Palmer, who has failed to impress this season due to numerous injuries.

Despite scoring in the EURO 2024 final, the 24‑year‑old’s exclusion is seen as one of the biggest talking points of the squad announcement.

Tuchel, known for selecting prominent personalities for a squad, has emphasised the importance of choosing the right characters for tournament football.

In his press conference, Tuchel described his squad as a team of specialists and set‑piece experts.

“We have a huge chunk of youthfulness, six who have won with the U21s, Kobbie and Nico O’Reilly,” said Tuchel. “We have specialists for all types of scenarios – leading, chasing, we always want to be a strong set‑piece team and penalties team and we have specialists for that.”