Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has revealed he is baffled by Gareth Southgate's decision to continue to snub one England star for minutes at Euro 2024.
England sit top of Group C but have been on the end of substantial criticism from fans and the media following two rather underwhelming displays so far in Germany.
Gareth Southgate's men opened their tournament with a scrappy but important 1-0 against Serbia, but the Three Lion's performance against Denmark on Thursday left a sour taste in fans' mouths as they drew 1-1.
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It was a frustratingly similar story for England fans as they saw their side take an early and deserved lead before dropping deep and refusing to do anything but hoof the ball back to Denmark who eventually got their reward.
Southgate made an attempt to change the run of play in the second half with a bold triple substitution as Jarrod Bowen, Ollie Watkins, and Eberechi Eze replaced Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, and Phil Foden.
Despite the changes the likes of Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer who endured exceptional seasons in the Premier League are yet to touch the grass in Germany.
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Former Chelsea, Liverpool, and Man City attacker, Sturridge, has been particularly bemused with the lack of minutes for Palmer and has made his feelings clear on social media.
Sturridge took to X, and wrote: "I’m genuinely shocked we haven’t seen Cole Palmer grace the field yet."
Palmer started both of England's warm-up games against Iceland and Bosnia and Herzegovina and was the surprise package of the season at Chelsea following his move from City.
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The 22-year-old scored 22 goals and registered 11 assists in the Premier League last season which is more than anyone else in the squad, so to see him warming the bench certainly raises questions.
England will finish the group stages against Slovenia, and based on the performances so far Southgate will be under a lot of pressure to start utilizing on paper the most in-form player in the squad.
Topics: England, Euro 2024, Gareth Southgate, Daniel Sturridge, Cole Palmer, Premier League
Tom Jenkins