Thomas Tuchel has spoken about managing his options in the number ten position for England.
Two former Manchester City teammates, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, have a point to prove after suffering various struggles in the last 18 months of club football. For the talismanic ten of Chelsea, there is particular pressure to show his best qualities with no track record under the new management.
Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers are also fighting for the role, so the competition is stiff.
What did Tuchel say about Cole Palmer?
"We have more evidence without [Cole] than with [Cole], so the pressure is on him. He had a difficult season, but he has also had a difficult spell with the national team. He was only once available for us, and when he was available, we decided to stick with the same squad, so there is big competition.
“He is in good spirits, he is open and he is communicating and is showing his quality. He is very engaged in the group, and these are very important steps to show the performance to be involved in the group and have connections within the group, so he will get his chances during the next matches.
"We have had four training sessions, and he needs to show up. He cannot hold back. He needs to understand he fights for his place, and we will not hand anything to anyone on a silver platter.
“[Phil and Cole] are quite similar.
“Both left footed, both good in the half position, both very good in the first steps with the ball. They can drop a shoulder, beat players in both directions, high understanding of the game. They love to put other players into action. They love to assist. They love to um play risky passes.
“I think maybe Cole takes a little bit more risk in his game than Phil. Phil played several times now also for Manchester City as an 8. He is responsible and maybe the more physical in terms of non-stop running and Cole has these little outbursts of pace and speed and creativity but they're quite similar and they're both on the highest level.
“When you see them in training it's pure joy. Every exercise they show their quality. They are in love with the ball and the ball is in love with them. It's a pleasure to watch; in the end, we will have a difficult decision because there come other players also in the camp on the number 10 position.”
