Darren Bent claims one Chelsea star has put his national team boss in an “impossible” position | OneFootball

Former Premier League striker Darren Bent believes Cole Palmer has put England boss Thomas Tuchel in an “impossible” position.

Tuchel has overseen a perfect record in World Cup qualifying with England yet to concede a goal ahead of their final game against Albania on Sunday.

The German faces a number of difficult selection issues before he has to finalise his squad for the World Cup next summer.

Darren Bent on Cole Palmer and England

One player who’s not featured much under Tuchel is Palmer, and the England international has missed the last three camps with a groin injury. 

Palmer is one of the most talented players in the Premier League, and many have called for the England team to be built round him.

Palmer has been plagued by a groin injury this season. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

However, his lack of action under Tuchel could make that quite difficult, and Bent believes Palmer has put the England boss in an “impossible” position.

“Everyone’s said Palmer’s got to get back in the squad, right,” he told talkSPORT.

“Who should you leave out? So I had conversations with people. I was in there with a few ex-players, a few supporters and stuff like that.

“We were all talking. Everyone kept saying, ‘Well, Palmer’s got to get back in the squad.’

“And I was like that’s fair enough but if he goes back, say you put Palmer in this squad, who’d you take out?

“It’s an impossible answer. It’s an absolutely impossible answer. So Thomas Tuchel has got a big job on his hands.”

Chelsea ace faces World Cup battle

Palmer has two goals in 12 England caps, one of which was the equaliser in the Euro 2024 final against Spain, which they would ultimately go on to lose.

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The 23-year-old hasn’t featured for England since a 1-0 win away at Andorra at the beginning of June, and there’s just one camp in March before the World Cup.

Palmer needs to focus on returning to full fitness and getting back to form for Chelsea, and the rest will take care of itself, but at the very least he should be on the plane next summer.