The awards are beginning to pile up for Cole Palmer. The Chelsea forward was voted by the public as England's 2023/24 men's player of the year, ahead of Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham and Arsenal's Bukayo Saka, the national team announced.
Not even a year has passed since the Chelsea player made his senior debut with England on Nov. 17, 2023 in a 2–0 win against Malta. Overall he's played nine games for the Three Lions scoring two goals and providing an assist.
He famously scored in the Euro 2024 Final against Spain in a game that England ultimately lost, finishing as runner-ups for the second consecutive European tournament. The decision to not start Palmer raised questions from fans and pundits directed at then manager Garret Southgate.
Now, interim manager Lee Carsley is reportedly, "intent on making Cole Palmer central to his England plans."
The Manchester City academy product has been phenomenal for Chelsea since he joined the London side on transfer deadline day in the 2023 summer window. He's become the first Chelsea player to win the award since Ashley Cole won it in 2010. Saka had won the award the two previous years and midfielder Kalvin Phillips is the other winner of the 2020s.
Palmer and England will be back in action during this international break in the European Nations League. The Three Lions play Greece on Thursday, Oct. 10 at Wembley Stadium and travel to the Helsinki Olympic Stadium to face off against Finland on Sunday, Oct. 13.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cole Palmer Wins England Men's Player of the Year Award.