Xabi Alonso urges Cole Palmer to focus on Chelsea after England omission

Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso has backed Cole Palmer to respond to his latest omission from the England squad by concentrating on his performances for the club.

England manager Thomas Tuchel left the 24-year-old forward out of his latest squad for Uefa Nations League matches against Croatia and Spain, having previously said in September that Palmer had missed “too many opportunities” to represent the national team after withdrawing because of injury.

Palmer was also omitted from Tuchel’s World Cup squad and has endured an inconsistent start to the season at Stamford Bridge.

Despite that, he has scored five goals and supplied three assists in 11 appearances in all competitions. He has formed an effective attacking trio with Morgan Rogers and Joao Pedro, although Palmer was sent off during a 2-0 defeat by Tottenham last month and has not scored from open play in the English Premier League since August.

“I’m very happy with his quality, attitude and the impact he’s having on the rest of the team,” Alonso said.

“We speak about Chelsea, we have enough on our plate. We have to focus each weekend and that’s what I can impact and talk about.”

Palmer has won only five England caps since scoring in the Euro 2024 final, when Spain beat England 2-1.

“He needs to focus on playing good football and enjoy playing with Chelsea,” added Alonso. “We spoke about the red card after the Spurs game, but most of the things apart from that are about the game, football and what we can do better.”

Palmer’s latest absence continues a difficult international period for the forward, but Alonso said his priority should remain his contribution to Chelsea rather than England selection.

Martinez could return for Sunderland trip

Chelsea, who are fourth in the Premier League, may be boosted by the return of first-choice goalkeeper Emi Martinez for Sunday’s visit to struggling Sunderland.

The Argentina international suffered a fractured jaw three weeks ago but has been cleared to play while wearing a face mask.

“It (the face mask) is not the most comfortable thing,” said Alonso. “He’s been training almost the whole week with it and for a certain period of time he’ll have to deal with it.”