England head coach Thomas Tuchel has revealed why he has chosen to hand a first call-up to Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah.
On Friday morning, Tuchel revealed which players had been selected for the World Cup qualifier with Andorra and international friendly against Senegal next month.
Among the surprise decisions was the inclusion of Chalobah, who was born in Sierra Leone but came through the England youth setup, earning three caps for the Under-21s.
Chalobah’s performances on loan at Crystal Palace during the first half of the campaign led to him being recalled to the Chelsea squad from January onwards.
Since then, a total of 14 starts and four substitute outings have been made in all competitions, the 25-year-old having helped the Blues in the Premier League and Conference League.
“A step ahead”
From an experience and leadership perspective, many would have expected Manchester United defender Harry Maguire to be named in the group for the upcoming double-header.
Instead, Tuchel told reporters at a press conference on Friday that he felt Chalobah had performed more consistently since the most recent international games back in March.
The German said: “[Maguire] is always in my thoughts. He covers the position as a centre-back but also as a No9! He is always a threat from set-pieces, a big personality, he steps up in difficult times, as you can see in his club.
“At the moment, Ezri [Konsa] keeps his place, Dan Burn as he’s left-foot keeps his place, Marc [Guehi] is more happy to play on the left side but had an injury so we decided for a left-footer with Levi Colwill to get this and at the moment we see Trevoh [Chalobah] a little bit ahead of Harry.
“I have a very clear picture of what Harry represents, what Harry can do and what he brings to a squad. I’m not so clear on how Trevoh would behave in this environment.
“I think performance-wise Trevoh is a step ahead at the moment. He’s involved fighting for a Champions League campaign and that’s why.”
Is the door being closed on Maguire?
Having missed out on Tuchel’s opening two games as manager, Maguire would have hoped for a recall given that he has racked up plenty of time in a Man United shirt recently.
With 64 caps to his name and a more logical choice than the likes of veterans Kyle Walker and Jordan Henderson, his omission comes as a surprise.
As a result, Maguire will now feel in a fight to return to the international fold when other players in his position such as Guehi and John Stones are absent through injury.
The one bit of encouragement that he can take is Tuchel showing no preference towards younger players at this stage. With a potentially-pivotal trip to Serbia also to come in September, a strong start to next season may bring Maguire back into the fold.
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