December 11th 2024.
Gary Lineker, a former England striker, recently expressed his admiration for two young players in the national team. In a recent podcast, Lineker named Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Chelsea's Cole Palmer as his two favorite English players. Despite only being 23 years old, Saka has already made 43 appearances for England and played in both of their European Championship final defeats.
There were concerns that Saka's missed penalty in the Euro 2020 final would affect his development, but the talented winger has put that painful night behind him and continued to impress for both club and country. On the other hand, Palmer, who is one year younger than Saka, has also established himself as a regular in the England squad since joining Chelsea from Manchester City.
In the Euro 2024 final, Palmer came off the bench to score, only to see Spain score a late winner and break England's hearts. However, this setback did not affect the young midfielder's performance, as he went on to have a fantastic first season at Chelsea, scoring 25 goals in all competitions. This season, he already has 17 goal involvements in just 15 Premier League appearances.
During a recent episode of The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker, along with his co-hosts Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, were asked to choose between Saka and Palmer. The question left them scratching their heads before they attempted to answer. Shearer jokingly said, "That's a nice easy one! You would play them both, wouldn't you? Both of their attitudes are great. Saka gets kicked every week and just gets on with it, and Palmer is just so bloody cool."
Lineker chimed in, saying, "This is exactly why I never wanted to be a manager! I love both of those players. I think they're probably my two favorite English players in the Premier League at the moment." However, when pressed to choose between the two, Lineker admitted that he couldn't decide and ended up picking Palmer because he can play in more positions.
Currently, Saka's Arsenal are in third place in the Premier League as they strive to win the title for the first time since 2004. Meanwhile, Palmer has been a crucial part of Chelsea's brilliant start under new manager Enzo Maresca, with the Blues sitting second in the Premier League and on top of their Europa Conference League group. With young talents like Saka and Palmer leading the way, the future looks bright for English football.
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