Thomas Tuchel ‘not happy’ with England star and holds clear-the-air talks | Football | Sport

Thomas Tuchel has revealed he held clear-the-air talks with Ivan Toney – and has since handed the striker a “special operations” role within the squad. Tuchel openly admitted that Toney’s “commitment and level of training” fell well short of expectations the last time the striker featured in an England squad 12 months ago.

The Three Lions manager confirmed he performed a U-turn following the last England camp in March, bringing Toney back into the setup to provide additional firepower at this summer’s World Cup. Toney, 30, is arguably the most eye-catching inclusion in the 26-man squad, particularly given that he now plies his trade in the Saudi Pro League and his international career had appeared all but finished.

Yet Tuchel is convinced the striker can serve as England’s ultimate impact substitute – one of their key finishers in the sweltering heat of the United States – and could prove priceless as a penalty specialist should shootouts arise.

Tuchel said: “Ivan is, in this case, a part of a specialty team, as part of a special operations team. He knows that, and that’s his role, and off the pitch, he is a glue.

“He is someone who connects with everyone very, very well, and here we go. It took a while, and it was in the last weeks, when we started deeply to talk about the selection.

“I was not happy with the June camp. He knows that. And we had to clear the air after that. That was the first step to even start thinking about calling him up again, because I was not happy.

“It was not a matter of his character. The level of training and the level of commitment was not where we wanted.

“We try to build a strong set-piece squad. He can have his role there, defensively and offensively, and he is a world-class penalty taker. He ticks suddenly a lot of boxes. It was necessarily that we talked with him again and clarified with him if he’s happy to come.

“And after having another conversation with him and having good feedback from his club coach – very good feedback – and having good feedback from the Euros in Germany, we decided to reopen the door and invite him in.”

Tuchel confirmed he has not personally travelled to Saudi Arabia to watch him, though Justin Cochrane has made the trip to observe him in action for Al-Ahli, who are managed by Matthias Jaissle — a coach Tuchel knows well from their shared time in Germany.

Toney featured at the 2024 Euros but appeared to have shut the door on his England career when he made the move to the Saudi Pro League.

However, with Tuchel seeking three strikers in his squad, and following Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Dom Solanke’s failure to stake their claims during the March internationals, England returned to the drawing board and took a fresh look at Toney.

Harry Kane remains a nailed-on starter and Ollie Watkins has also secured his place, with Tuchel praising the Aston Villa forward’s reaction to being overlooked in March. Yet it is Toney’s remarkable comeback and international redemption that has truly captured the imagination.

Tuchel said: “We started talking more deeply about the team and started talking different scenarios and what would be the most offensive lineup if we are going 1-0 down with 15 minutes to play, ten minutes plus extra time we need a goal.

“We are pushing. We are around the box. Balls are flying into the box. What are scenarios. Then his name comes up constantly. Because he has a presence.

“Harry loves to play with him, because he thinks that he takes the attention off him. He is even more of an old-school No9 than Harry himself. So would he be a player you would like to fall the ball down to if there is a ricochet in the box? Yes. Absolutely.

“Would he be the player that you want to have this touch? Does he take, with his presence, the attention off other strikers? Yes.”

The other somewhat surprising name included in the squad is Djed Spence, who has found regular minutes hard to come by at Tottenham this season, experienced a dip in form and suffered a broken jaw following a collision with Chelsea’s Rory Delap this week.

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Spence has been selected because of his versatility across both flanks, and there must be worries surrounding the fitness of Reece James and Tino Livramento, who have both been absent for significant periods this season due to injury.

Tuchel added: “First of all, he was excellent in every single match that he played for us. He suffers from the change of coach at his club. Since then he has had a lot of minutes. Of course, he suffers from the situation. He is part of the situation as well.

“He is a part of the situation, I am talking now. He brings something to the group that we don’t have in his profile. I think he loves defending. He is the fastest player in our squad.

“He loves to defend one-on-ones. That is just a characteristic that makes him a standout full-back for us. A bit of a special full-back for us. He can be on top of that play both sides.

“We had this discussion with Djed before the March matches. We said we were a bit concerned about what is going on in the club. You don’t get the minutes. If you come here in March, you have to prove yourself again.

“Which he honestly did because both of our full-backs, Tino and Djed, were just excellent. You trust them and you bring something to the group.”

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