Paul Gascoigne exclusive: England should build around Palmer, why Carsley deserves a chance
Paul Gascoigne has exclusively told Football365 that “unbelievable” Chelsea playmaker Cole Palmer is the No. 10 England should build around.
Palmer joined Chelsea from Manchester City for around £40million in the 2023 summer transfer window.
His form in 2023/24 unsurprisingly earned him a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for this summer’s European Championship.
Palmer did not start a single match, despite the clamour, but came off the bench to score in the final defeat against Spain.
England have lots of options in attack and Palmer is a player capable of playing in behind the striker and on the right wing.
Bukayo Saka is undroppable on the right but there are doubts over who should play in behind Harry Kane, with Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Palmer all in contention, while interim manager Lee Carsley has also called up Morgan Gibbs-White and Curtis Jones.
We had the opportunity to ask former England international Gascoigne who England should build around and if Palmer is the best No. 10 for the Three Lions.
He exclusively told F365 (via sportcasting.com): “Yeah. God, I didn’t realise how good he was!
“It’s only the last couple of games I’ve watched him on Match Of The Day, he’s been unbelievable. He’s hungry, he scored four [against Brighton], he wants to do well and he’s with a good team, he’s sharp.
“I like Grealish because it doesn’t matter how good or bad he’s playing, he always wants the ball and he has a go at them (his teammates) as well. Foden, I think the last couple of games I’ve seen him, he’s been outstanding.
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“He’s been unbelievable, you’ve got them two and then you’ve got Palmer up front. And then Saka seems to be doing really well, so they’ve got some great kids coming through.
“It’s good to see Lee Carsley as manager, I played against him, it’s unbelievable. Here’s me doing venues and Lee Carsley is the England manager. Good luck to him, it’s incredible.”
Carsley is in interim charge for three international breaks and has not made it clear whether or not he wants the job full-time.
Asked if he thinks Carsley is the right man for the England job, Gazza said: “Well, I think it’s just who can pick the right team, you know? Because he’s got all the players there.
“Gareth [Southgate], at the end of his stint as England manager, he was experimenting and that was not really a good thing to do.
“England play against crap teams like Montenegro or whoever and win 7-0, and all of a sudden they come up against Italy, Spain or Portugal and it’s like wow, a different level.
“When I played for Glasgow Rangers, we qualified for the Champions League because we played crap teams.
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“One minute you’re playing like Kilmarnock, and the next you’re up against Ajax and we’re getting battered because we’re not used to playing against quality players.
“I think you give him (Carsley) a chance and see how he gets on but he seems to be doing well at the moment. As long as he doesn’t lose the papers, because they’re putting him under pressure.
“I’d rather have an English manager because we’ve had so many foreign managers and I don’t think it’s good for our game. We’ve got enough foreigners as it is in the Premiership.
“I’d give him a chance, he seems to be loving it and he’s a nice guy as well.”
Asked his favourite England teammate, Gascoigne said: “It was mostly Chris [Waddle], because when I moved to Tottenham, you’re not going to believe this, I still had a big Geordie accent. And Chris had it because he had been at Tottenham year and a bit. I had to use Chris as a translator for it. The Spurs players said, ‘Chris, what’s he saying?’
“I didn’t live far from him so I was always with Chris at that time. After a year and a bit, he went to Marseille. That’s where I did the Lazio deal, in his back garden in Marseille. Photographers caught us and that. Good lad, Chris.”
