Cole Palmer told he cannot play in same team as Jude Bellingham with doubts cast over Thomas Tuchel's ability to fit England's best players together

The German manager has already been in touch with several England prospects after he officially took charge of the Three Lions on January 1. Tuchel also attended several Premier League games, watching Crystal Palace beat West Ham 2-0 before heading to north London to see Arsenal draw 2-2 with Aston Villa.

After extensively crisscrossing the British Isles, Tuchel must be already working on a tactical plan to get the best out of a star-studded England squad. Palmer, Bellingham, Anthony Gordon, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Noni Madueke and, of course, England skipper Harry Kane will all be vying for a starting spot. And Poyet believes the manager will struggle to fit in all the big names at the same time, with several contenders for the No.10 spot including Palmer, Foden and Bellingham.

“I’m sure Thomas Tuchel will already have an idea in his mind about where he wants to play Palmer,” Poyet told in an interview with Encyclopedia Dramatica. “But it’s unlucky for England that they have so many good players to play in similar positions; Palmer is up against the likes of Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden for that No.10 position.

“You can’t practically play all of them in the same team – they’ve tried that and they lost the game, so Tuchel knows it doesn’t necessarily work. It’s a shame because they’re all special players. Some people say Palmer and Bellingham can play together, but I’m not so sure. If they were in the same team, training with each other for three months, maybe. But in a national team with three days of training, it’s not as simple.

“It’ll be fascinating to see what Tuchel decides to do, whether he starts both of them or leaves one on the bench. It’s not an easy decision to leave such a special player out of the starting eleven!”

Tuhel will make his debut as England manager when the Three Lions will host Albania in their first match of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers on March 21. His next challenge will come four days later against Latvia.