Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso has thrown his full support behind Cole Palmer following the forward’s latest omission from the England national team, urging the 24-year-old to focus entirely on his club football.

England manager Thomas Tuchel opted to leave Palmer out of his squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures against Croatia and Spain. The German coach previously noted in September that Palmer had missed “too many opportunities” with the Three Lions after withdrawing due to injury, a theme he revisited during Friday’s squad announcement.

Palmer, who was also omitted from England’s World Cup squad, has endured a mixed start to the campaign at Stamford Bridge. Despite contributing five goals and three assists in 11 matches across all competitions, forming a productive attacking line alongside Morgan Rogers and João Pedro, the playmaker was sent off in a 2–0 loss to Tottenham last month and has not scored from open play in the Premier League since August.

Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s upcoming fixture, Alonso brushed aside national team selection debates to praise his player’s overall contribution.

“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 managed just five caps for England since scoring in the Euro 2024 final against Spain, but Alonso remains focused on maximizing his potential in West London.

“He needs to focus on playing good football and enjoy playing with Chelsea,” Alonso added. “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.”

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