Jamie Carragher predicts it will be a ‘toss-up’ between Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer to make England’s Euro 2024 squad after their blistering starts to the season

Jamie Carragher believes it could come down to a straight shootout between Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer as to who makes Gareth Southgate‘s England squad for Euro 2024.

Palmer was handed his Three Lions debut during the recent international break while Gordon is still waiting for his first senior-call-up.

But the Newcastle man demonstrated his undoubted potential on Saturday when he registered a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win for the Magpies against Palmer’s Chelsea. 

Gordon now has five goals and three assists in the Premier League this season, and Carragher feels it could be either him or Palmer that joins the more established names in the England squad in Germany next summer.

Looking at a list of potential wingers and attacking midfielders that could make the final cut, Carragher said on Monday Night Football: ‘Saka will go in the squad. Foden, Rashford, Grealish, Maddison, they will go. And I think there’s maybe one other out of the rest of the names that we see there. 

Cole Palmer has also made a very strong start to life at Chelsea since joining them this summer

Jamie Carragher thinks it could be a ‘toss-up’ between the two as to who goes to Euro 2024

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‘Now, Cole Palmer was in the last squad. He’s been outstanding since he went to Chelsea, but if you actually go back to the summer where this great form for Anthony Gordon actually started, you can probably go back to the Under-21 tournament in the summer where England won the tournament, he was the best player. Cole Palmer was actually on the bench. 

‘So in some ways, Cole Palmer has actually superseded him in terms of getting into the England squad which maybe is a little bit harsh or he might feel a little hard done by, Anthony Gordon, considering what he’s done for the national team in the summer. 

‘But, for me, if he continues how he’s going I think it could be a toss-up between him and Cole Palmer because, for whatever reason, Raheem Sterling doesn’t feel like he’s going to get back into the squad.’

Carragher does not expect Raheem Sterling to get back into the squad before next summer

Competition for places in the wide areas in Southgate’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation is fierce, with the likes of Jarrod Bowen and Eberechi Eze set to miss out if Carragher’s prediction proves correct.

One advantage Gordon could have compared to Palmer, Sterling, Bowen and Eze is he is playing in the Champions League this season.

Newcastle’s hopes of making the knockout stages of the competition hang in the balance ahead of their trip to Paris to face PSG tomorrow.

If Gordon can play a key role in getting his side into the last 16, this could enhance his chances of breaking into the national team squad just in time for their next shot at major tournament glory.