Xabi Alonso defends Cole Palmer's England commitment after Thomas Tuchel criticism

Cole Palmer has been passed fit for Chelsea ’s Premier League meeting with Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Saturday after training with his club since withdrawing from the England squad. The 24-year-old pulled out of his country’s squad ahead of Nations League fixtures against Spain, Czechia and Croatia, with the withdrawal attributed to reported load management. England manager Thomas Tuchel had raised question marks over the forward, saying Palmer “misses too many opportunities” to play international football. Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has now addressed the situation, insisting Palmer is committed to representing England. “He has trained the last week, he has felt better,” Alonso said of Palmer. We didn’t want to rush because we’ve had enough time. “The most important thing for Cole is to be fully fit, that he enjoys his game, he’s feeling OK. In the Brentford game, we could see he was struggling. For the next part, we have good feeling with him and that he’s feeling better. Cole Palmer was criticised by Tuchel after pulling out of the England squad (PA Wire) “He’s committed (to England) but he has to be fully fit to play. And when he’s fully fit he will enjoy his minutes. We need him in that moment: the club and the national team.” Palmer’s England situation extends beyond the current window, having been left out of Tuchel’s World Cup squad. He has featured just three times since the German took charge of England in January 2025. Beyond Palmer, Alonso expects Reece James , Moises Caicedo and Joao Pedro to be available for the Bournemouth game as the Blues bid to bounce back from a thumping 3-0 loss at Brentford three weeks ago. Blues captain James missed the recent international window amid another hamstring issue. Striker Pedro sat out the Brentford defeat because of a knee injury. Midfielder Caicedo has played only 14 minutes all season due to a persistent calf problem. “Yes, he’s ready to go,” Alonso said of Caicedo. “We have used the time with Moi to be back fit. He’s been training good and he’s OK to go.” Moises Caicedo is ready to play (PA Wire) Asked about James, Palmer and Pedro, the Spaniard continued: “They have been able to train, some of them earlier than others. “We have used the time, and that was the plan. We knew that against Brentford we were with some players struggling but now they have trained well and they are ready to go. “For the next block of games until the next international break, we have five Premier League games and hopefully they will be available as long but for tomorrow they will be good.” Alonso, the former Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid boss, began his reign with back-to-back league wins. He has taken just one point from the last nine available. “It’s going to take time,” he said. “We need to keep improving, keep learning. From each game we are learning things but we need to ensure we don’t make the same mistakes again, knowing that each game is really tough.”