Former England captain John Terry has suggested Thomas Tuchel is treating Djed Spence differently to the rest of his squad at the World Cup.
A viral clip showed Tuchel letting rip at the Tottenham defender during the goalless draw with Ghana in the group stages having gone similarly berserk during a training ground session in Kansas last month.
The England boss was spotted berating Spence again at a throw-in during Wednesday’s comeback victory over DR Congo, shouting ‘Djed! There is one on one, pay up front!’ when the full-back elected to throw back to defender Marc Guehi rather than get the ball forward.
Both Tuchel and Spence have said they have a good relationship with the defender starting two of England’s four matches so far at the World Cup.
He is expected to start again against Mexico on Sunday if Reece James does not recover from a hamstring injury in time.
The viral clips of Tuchel shouting at his player have led former Chelsea star John Terry to claim Spence has become an easy target for public criticism.
He also questioned whether a more senior player like Trent Alexander-Arnold, left out of the World Cup squad by Tuchel, would come in for the same treatment.
‘I’m not saying he’s picking him out – but he seems like he’s having a proper dig at him,’ John Terry told Piers Morgan Uncensored.
‘We’ve seen the training incident that we spoke about. I’m a little bit worried. I really like Tuchel, and I think he’s a top and elite manager, but when I see this, I’m like, if that’s Trent, I’m not sure he’s behaving like that; I’m not sure he’s talking to Trent like that.
‘And maybe that’s a decision of why he’s picked a couple of these players, because he can go like that to these younger players or these new players in the squad, for me.’
Simon Jordan said: ‘I mean, don’t forget this is Djed Spence, who’s a bit of a cocky little sod. He’s the one that, you know, wouldn’t shake Thomas Frank’s hand, he’s the one that got hooked off the pitch and then decided to make a point with [Igor] Tudor by coming back off the bench and sticking his hand out…’
Terry interrupted: ‘Listen, I’m not his fan. I don’t think he’s a good defender, I don’t think he’s a good footballer. He’s played in a really struggling Spurs side this year.
‘But I will say I’ve not seen Tuchel do that to anyone else. It just seems to be on two or three occasions he’s dug Spence out.
‘But also, for me, he’s then relied on him and played him again.’