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Thomas Tuchel has disclosed the "difficult" conversation he had when dropping Trent Alexander-Arnold, explaining his desire to inject more competitive edge into England's squad.
Tuchel, who also publicly apologized to Jude Bellingham, confessed he omitted the Real Madrid star due to his underwhelming form when measured against Reece James and Tino Livramento.
The England manager made it evident that Ben White would have earned selection too, had the Arsenal defender not sustained an injury that sidelines him from the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia. Former Liverpool full-back Alexander-Arnold has endured a challenging beginning at Real Madrid and was omitted from their starting XI that defeated Real Oviedo at the weekend.
Tuchel explained: "I spoke to Trent. It was a difficult phone call but I wanted him to hear it from me. Which he appreciated and he was very clear that he's desperate and keen to come back and play for England.
"It's all in the mix but it is a competitive decision. And just to make the competition a little bit more spicy. First and foremost, I think Trent is a player who needs to feel trust and love from his manager and team-mates and from his club, his country and the fans. He needs that.
"Reece is at the moment slightly ahead in this position, given what he did for us in the last two camps and how he played the CWC with Chelsea.
"And then we went for Tino Livramento because of the rhythm that he has and he gives us the option to cover both sides.
"Ben White had a very good chance to be with us. I was very happy with his preseason and the feedback I got from him and from the club about his preseason. He started, straight away got injured, that ruined his chances with us. He would've had a very good chance with us."
It's evidently a lengthy journey back for Alexander-Arnold, with Tuchel also conceding uncertainty over whether his "repulsive" comment regarding Bellingham will impact their working relationship.
Tuchel sparked controversy in June when he revealed during a live radio discussion that even his own mother considered aspects of Bellingham's on-field conduct "repulsive."
Bellingham is absent due to a shoulder problem. When questioned about potential damage to their rapport, Tuchel responded: "I hope not because it happened unintentionally.
"There was no message involved. Now it's a moment for Jude to focus on this rehab, and for us to focus on camp.
"I straight away made contact with Jude to make this very clear and, yeah, from there we go. I should have done better."
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