Thomas Tuchel says Jude Bellingham wanted to be called-up to the England squad after he was left out for the upcoming World Cup qualifier.
The Three Lions are set to face Wales in a friendly next week before travelling to Latvia where they could book their place at next year’s World Cup in North America.
Tuchel named his squad for the October international break on Friday and there were many surprise inclusions and exclusions, with Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish the most notable snubs.
The latter two have started this season in great form but the German head coach wants to keep a sense of continuity with his team, picking virtually the same squad as last month.
‘It’s only three weeks now since the last camp and the last win [against Serbia], the last performance,’ Tuchel explained in his press conference.
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‘So the question was, why not bring the same group in? Because they set the standards and now it is about creating habits out of it.’
Bellingham is often regarded as England’s best player but missed the last international break as he was still recovering from shoulder surgery.
The midfielder recently returned to action for Real Madrid and has made four appearances so far, though only one start, and it was initially thought that his exclusion was down to a lack of fitness.
However, Tuchel has revealed that the 22-year-old was healthy enough to be called-up and Bellingham himself told the England boss that he wanted to play for his country.
‘Jude is a very special player, and for special players there can always be special rules. I get this,’ he added.
Full England squad
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Man City)
Defenders: Dan Burn (Newcastle), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham), John Stones (Man City)
Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (AC Milan), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona, loan from Man Utd), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
‘But for this camp we decided that we stick with our straightforward decision to invite the same team. That applies also then for Jude, he deserves always to be in camp.
‘I think there is an extra layer on top, the situation that he has not gathered fully rhythm yet at Real Madrid. He is back in the team. He hasn’t finished one full match until now, he has only started one match, so he is in the period where he gets his rhythm, where he gets back to full strength.
‘He wanted to be called up, we had a phone call, there is no issue from that side, he just lacks rhythm, he hasn’t finished one complete match. And on top of it, we decided to go with the same squad.’
Should Jude Bellingham have been called-up to the England squad?
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Yes
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No
There have been rumours of a rift between the player and manager, with Tuchel previously revealing that his mum found Bellingham’s attitude ‘repulsive’.
But the German moved to once again dismiss the speculation saying: ‘No. There is no problem at all, there is no personal problem.
‘There is also no problem between me and Phil Foden, there is no problem between me and Jack Grealish. Very special players.
‘Phil is back to influencing games, deciding games for Manchester City. Jack is very close to be the best version of himself, a very special player, a very special character.’