Former Premier League manager Alan Pardew believes Tuchel's public criticism of Palmer for withdrawing from the England squad was unnecessary.

After missing the World Cup this summer, Palmer was recalled to the England squad by Tuchel for the UEFA Nations League. However, he subsequently withdrew from the current matches along with Rice, Mainoo, Rashford, and Livramento. Palmer had played the full 90 minutes in Chelsea's 3-0 away loss to Brentford, making his withdrawal notable.

This is the second time Palmer has withdrawn after being called up since Tuchel took over as England manager in 2025. Tuchel stated that Palmer had missed too many training sessions due to injury and lost another opportunity to prove himself.

Tuchel said: "I only want to judge him based on what I see with my own eyes and his performance for the team, and to do that, he has to participate in training. If he's not in the training camp, he won't get further opportunities to prove himself."

Regarding Palmer's withdrawal, Tuchel stated: "As far as I understand, he has been playing with discomfort and pain and cannot compete at the highest level in that condition, so he withdrew. Both the player and Chelsea informed us."

Pardew said on talkSPORT's "The Final Word": "In this matter, Palmer is probably the one who suffers the most. I think Thomas has put him on the spot a bit."

Pardew added: "He said Palmer hasn't participated in enough training sessions, but was it really necessary to emphasize that? Everyone noticed. This will put a lot of pressure on the lad, and I think it's completely unnecessary."

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