Cole Palmer Excluded From Chelsea's Squad For Europa Conference League

Add as a preferred source on Google

Cole Palmer has been omitted from Chelsea's squad for the Europa Conference League's league phase. Despite a stellar debut season at Stamford Bridge in 2023-24, where he contributed to 33 goals (22 goals and 11 assists), his efforts were insufficient to secure Champions League or Europa League qualification for the Blues. Chelsea finished sixth, with Manchester United clinching England's final Europa League spot by winning the FA Cup.

Enzo Maresca's team advanced to the new league phase of the Conference League after defeating Servette in a play-off. Their first match in this stage is against Gent on October 3. Other opponents include Panathinaikos, Noah, Heidenheim, Astana, and Shamrock Rovers before the league phase concludes in December.

The Blues announced their 23-man squad for the next competition stage on Thursday, with Palmer being the most notable exclusion. New signings Jadon Sancho, Joao Felix, Marc Guiu, Pedro Neto, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Renato Veiga, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Filip Jorgensen are included. Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia also miss out alongside Palmer.

In the current Premier League season (2024-25), Palmer has already made a significant impact with four assists and one goal in Chelsea's first three games. He is the first player since Paul Pogba in 2021-22 to provide four or more assists at this early stage of a top-flight campaign.

If Chelsea progresses to the knockout stages of the competition, they can add Palmer to their squad in January. The club aims to become only the second English team to win this competition after West Ham's victory in 2022-23.

Complete Squad List

The full squad includes: 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 and Marc Guiu.

Chelsea will face a challenging group stage but remains hopeful of advancing further into the competition. The team's performance in these initial matches will be crucial for their aspirations this season.