Ian Ladyman believes Cole Palmer should feature in Gareth Southgate’s England squad this summer and claims he is the most exciting English footballer on the scene at the moment.
Southgate will be responsible for guiding England through this summer’s European Championship, with The Three Lions set to take on Slovenia, Denmark and Serbia in their group before progressing through the knockout stages.
Speaking to Chris Sutton on the latest episode of It’s All Kicking Off, Ladyman said the England manager must find a way to incorporate Palmer into his squad as he is an exceptional talent.
Sutton also spoke about Palmers transfer from Manchester City to Chelsea, claiming Pep Guardiola was ‘wrong’ for letting the youngster go as he’s single handily carried the Blues this season.
Ian Ladyman believes Cole Palmer should feature in Gareth Southgate ‘s England squad
Ladyman says Palmer is the most exciting English footballer on the scene at the moment
Speaking about the Euros this summer, Ladyman said: ‘Cole Palmer to me looks like he should be in that England team in the summer. I don’t know how he gets in and who comes out to get him in but he just looks like one of those players that has to play. You have to find a home for him somewhere.’
Sutton agreed Palmer should be in the squad but questioned whether Southgate would make the necessary changes. He said: ‘Gareth has never been a manager to me that will put players in when they’re on absolute fire. He’s a stickler for tried and tested.’
The pair went on to discuss Palmer’s recent form. Ladyman said: ‘I can’t remember the last time I was this excited about an English footballer. I do get like this occasionally and sometimes my judgement can be way off.
‘I remember getting really excited a couple of years ago about Hamza Choudhury playing for Leicester. I got obsessed with him and went to interview him. He’s a really lovely lad by the way but he ended up playing in the Championship for Watford.
‘Anyway, he is back at Leicester now, but Hamza didn’t take that upward trajectory I thought he was going to. Cole Palmer has already.
‘That performance at Luton, there was a pass with the outside of his left foot over 40 yards which I thought was absolutely out of this world.
‘I thought Lucas Paqueta’s pass for Jarrod Bowen’s goal against Manchester United was the pass of the season but Palmer’s pass was even better.’
Ladyman asked Sutton whether he felt as though he was getting carried away when discussing Palmer. The former footballer said: ‘I don’t think you are getting carried away.
However, Chris Sutton claims Southgate is a ‘stickler for selecting tried and tested players’
‘You brought him up earlier in the season and I thought Ian gone a little bit early. Was he a bit premature again, which is what he’s known for. But, you’re bang on and we should be getting excited by Cole Palmer.
‘Also, you think of the situation he is in at Chelsea. Chelsea have been in disarray, I don’t know if that is the right word but things haven’t been right at Chelsea this season.
‘He’s carried Chelsea in many respects and for such a young player to do that, is impressive. He’s the one Chelsea player I’ve seen this season that is playing with absolute freedom.
‘If you’re a Manchester City supporter you’ve got to be thinking Pep was nuts to let him go. With the talent which he has. Pep rarely gets egg on his face but it looks like this time he’s got it wrong. He really does. Palmer has been phenomenal in a struggling Chelsea team.’
