Thomas Tuchel is gearing up to begin his new role as the national team manager of England and he has been given his first task.
The former Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager was appointed as the manager of the Three Lions of England in the third quarter of 2024. He watched as interim manager Lee Carsley handled the team in order to familiarise himself with the selection processes and how to handle players as it was his first national team role.
In January 2025, he will be resuming office with the goal of getting England to the 2026 FIFA World Cup which will be held in USA, Canada and Mexico. He will also have the task of ensuring that England finishes their UEFA Nations League campaign strong, while setting up the team to be competitive.
To do this, the FA has charged him with convincing Arsenal defender Ben White to return to the national team.
White, who has been a stalwart of Arsenal since joining them from Brighton and Hove Albion, quickly made it into the national team setup. His versatility which allows him to play all across defence was key for England, who used him as a joker card whenever they needed to change their setup. However, in 2022 after the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the 27-year-old pulled out from the squad.
It is believed that he fell out with Steve Holland, one of former manager Gareth Southgate’s assistants and promised to steer clear of the national team until Southgate’s regime was done.
Following the charge given to Tuchel to ensure his return, it has been revealed that it was indeed Holland’s comments accusing White of not liking football enough that caused him to excuse himself from the national team.
Asked about how he intends to convince the Arsenal defender, Tuchel said: : “Yes, I will reach out to him. It should be a clean start and a clear narrative. It starts from January. I will be in the stadiums from January. I will also not distract the players and they should just know: ‘Okay, the boss is there from January’.
“Then I will of course try to speak to them, but also be respectful to the schedule that they have, because the schedule is busy in January, especially in the Premier League.”
Alan Shearer has also joined his voice with those calling for Tuchel to work to convince White to return to the squad.
“I suspect that Thomas Tuchel will want to have a conversation with Ben or Arsenal and try to find out why he doesn’t want to be selected if that is the case. If Ben doesn’t, then you must respect that, and that doesn’t mean I agree with it, but you have to respect it,” Shearer said.
“Thomas Tuchel will likely have a conversation with him and see whether he’s open to coming back into the squad.”
