Chelsea snub Palmer: Ballon d'Or nominee LEFT OUT of Maresca's squad

Tom Weber

Updated: 5 Sept 2024 15:58 BST
3 min read

Cole Palmer has been left out of Chelsea's squad for the UEFA Conference League, the club have announced.

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The attacker is coming off an outstanding season that saw him not only earn a place in England's squad for Euro 2024 but also a nomination for the upcoming Ballon d'Or.

The official shortlist was revealed on Wednesday and Palmer was the only inclusion from Chelsea's men's squad, with the 22-year-old already off to a great start this season.

In three Premier League games so far, Palmer has notched a goal and four assists. His contract was recently extended and will now run for nine years and his current injury, which saw him withdraw from England duty, is expected to only be a minor one.

All seems well in Cole Palmer Land, but the player has now been dealt a pretty significant blow by coach Enzo Maresca.

Palmer omitted from Conference League squad

That is because Chelsea have announced their squad for this season's UEFA Conference League and Palmer is conspicuously absent, as are the likes of Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia.

The reason given for this decision was 'load management' and it makes sense as Chelsea's season could stretch into July 2025 due to the new Club World Cup.

However, with Chelsea one of the favourites to win the Conference League, Palmer will surely be gutted that he will not be able to contribute to a potential triumph at least in the group stage - he could still get added for the knockouts, if the Blues qualify.

So far, silverware has eluded Chelsea under the Todd Boehly-Clearlake regime and Maresca is determined to change that. The Blues are in a Conference League group with Gent, Panathinaikos, FC Noah, Heidenheim, Astana and Shamrock Rovers.

Summer signings Filip Jorgensen, Tosin Adarabioyo, Renato Veiga, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Pedro Neto, Joao Felix, Jadon Sancho and Marc Guiu all made Chelsea's A-list squad. Exiled former vice-captain Ben Chilwell, however, did not as he faces at least four months without football unless he can secure a late move to Turkey or elsewhere.