Thomas Tuchel intends to visit Trent Alexander-Arnold as part of plans to tell players left out of his latest England squad how they can earn a spot at the World Cup.
The head coach has as many as 60 players on his longlist, few with a bigger profile than Alexander‑Arnold. However, the Real Madrid right‑back looks a long shot to win back his place before the finals tournament next summer. Alexander‑Arnold is in Tuchel’s thoughts but he has not been called up since June, played little part in England’s perfect qualifying campaign and saw a new competitor in his position emerge when Bayer Leverkusen’s Jarell Quansah made his debut in the 2-0 win against Albania in Tirana on Sunday.
“It’s my job now to make contact with everyone, players like Trent,” Tuchel said. “Players that are on our longlist, 55, 60 players, to reach out to them, be in touch with them, explain to them why they were not here. Explain to them what they have to do, where they can improve. Can they even do something or is it just a choice? So this is my job in the next weeks and months.
“I have a lot of trust in Jarell. I see his talent but I see the package. He is tall, he is fast, he is strong in buildup, he is strong in the air. I saw him very strong playing for Liverpool in this position. I always wanted to try. And he plays every minute for Leverkusen since the under-21 Euros. He is at the moment a tiny bit ahead.”
Tuchel named a squad of 25 for the qualifiers this month against Albania and Serbia, meaning he has to speak to at least 30 players who failed to make the cut. The German anticipates a lot of discussions before England’s next camp in March, when they will ramp up World Cup preparations with two friendlies, possibly against Japan and Uruguay.
“I hate phone calls,” Tuchel said. “Better on FaceTime. Then I see the expression, at least, and get a feeling for the person. Or I need to visit them, visit training, training grounds.”
Asked whether he would go to Madrid to see Alexander-Arnold, Tuchel replied: “Why would I not?” Told that it will be difficult to visit everyone, he pointed out that travelling to Spain to see Alexander-Arnold would also allow him to meet Jude Bellingham.
“We can do group visits,” Tuchel said. “We can do Jude and Trent. And visit the clubs. And some of them we will call. Let’s see. We’ve just finished this camp and I think it’s important that I reach out to everyone, even to the guys we didn’t pick so regularly to tell them where they are and give them honest feedback.”
