England star Cole Palmer was a rare bright spot for the Blues last year but he will not be involved in the upcoming European fixtures. When Chelsea announced their squad for the Europa Conference League group stage, fans were surprised to see that Cole Palmer’s name was not included.
Cole Palmer exempted from Conference League group stage
Palmer had a superb debut campaign at Stamford Bridge in 2023-24, scoring more goals than any other player in the Premier League (33 goals with 22 goals and 11 assists).
Palmer has provided four assists and scored once in Chelsea’s first three Premier League games of the season. He is the first player to provide four or more assists at this stage of a top-flight campaign since Paul Pogba provided five in Manchester United’s first three games of the 2021-22 campaign.
However, his efforts were not enough to get the Blues into the Champions League or Europa League, as they finished sixth and saw Manchester United secure England’s final Europa League spot through victory in the FA Cup.
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Enzo Maresca’s side have progressed through a play-off against Servette to reach the new group stage of the Conference League, with their first game in the competition being against Gent on October 3. They will also face Panathinaikos, Noah, Heidenheim, Astana and Shamrock Rovers before the group stage concludes in December.
The Blues announced their 23-man squad for the next round of European fixtures on Thursday, with Palmer the most notable player left out, alongside Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia.
The decision was made due to overloading issues as Chelsea’s season could run until July 2025, including the Club World Cup. Chelsea want to preserve key players for the long haul. And Chelsea will be able to add Palmer to their squad in January if they reach the knockout stages, as they bid to become only the second English side to win the competition, after West Ham in 2022-23.
New signings Jadon Sancho, Joao Felix, Marc Guiu, Pedro Neto, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Renato Veiga, Tosin Adarabioyo and Filip Jorgensen are all included in the squad.
23-player squad for the European Cup: Robert Sanchez, Filip Jorgensen, Lucas Bergstrom; Axel Disasi, Marc Cucurella, Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, Reece James, Malo Gusto, Renato Veiga; Enzo Fernandez, Noni Madueke, Carney Chukwuemeka, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Moises Caicedo, Cesare Casadei; Pedro Neto, Mykhailo Mudryk, Joao Felix, Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Jadon Sancho, Marc Guiu.