Thomas Tuchel ramps up pressure on Cole Palmer with place in World Cup squad on the line | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel says the pressure is on Cole Palmer to prove himself as part of this new-look England squad, given that he has not been able to properly use him yet, but is confident the Chelsea playmaker can return to form.

The 23-year-old has had an erratic season due to a groin injury and Tuchel believes that has visibly affected his movement.

The manager believes that is starting to change, however, and he hopes Palmer can illustrate his quality in a Tuchel team.

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Thomas Tuchel has asked Cole Palmer to prove himself for England (Action Images/Reuters)

“Honestly, he has to show it because we have more evidence without him than with him so the pressure is on him,” explained Tuchel.

“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 for his best position, number 10. He really tries.”

It was put to Tuchel that he has been seen hugging Palmer a lot at training.

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Tuchel has been seen hugging Palmer a lot at training (Action Images via Reuters)

“When I hug him, that means he is smiling otherwise he would not get a hug,” said Tuchel. “He is in good spirits, he is open and he is communicating and is showing his quality.

“He is very engaged 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 chance during the next matches.”

Tuchel added that England have seen an improvement in Palmer’s fitness, both on the pitch and from staff analytics.

“We saw good data lately, I saw him live against Arsenal and for the first time in a long time, I had the feeling his stride was back to the original lengths,” explained the German.

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Palmer has found some form again in recent games (Getty)

“Before I felt he was not free and the stride was not long enough, the acceleration was not there and the movement was not free. I got feedback from him and from Chelsea that he felt during this game he was much, much better. He also had a very strong game against Aston Villa with a huge physical output that we could see and that was the first step.

“The physical output is matching the impression we have that there was something lacking but he is now back to full confidence and we see it in training. He is not pulling out or holding back.

“That is what we wanted. 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. He did this in a very nice way, in exactly the right way.”