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Gary Lineker has raised suspicions of a ‘personal issue’ between Thomas Tuchel and Trent Alexander-Arnold, resulting in the England head coach excluding the right-back from his latest squad selection.
In a surprising move, Alexander-Arnold was left out of Tuchel’s England lineup for the current international break. Instead, Ben White, who had previously been out of favor, was chosen over the Real Madrid defender to be part of the 35-man squad.
White made a strong comeback, stepping in for the injured Jarell Quansah, and celebrated his return to the England team by scoring his first international goal during the Three Lions’ 1-1 draw against Uruguay at Wembley last week.
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker expressed his thoughts: “I’m obviously a big fan of Trent. There’s got to be something personal because, from a football perspective, there’s no contest. I can’t comprehend how he wouldn’t make the squad since he undoubtedly enhances your chances, even if used as a substitute.”
“I suspect there’s a reason Tuchel might not favor Trent Alexander-Arnold,” Lineker continued. “I’m speculating here, whether it’s about his attitude or possibly his defensive skills. There must be some underlying reason, as the decision seems completely illogical otherwise.”
Gary Lineker believes Thomas Tuchel (right) has a personal issue with Trent Alexander-Arnold (left)
Lineker said that it was ‘really insulting’ to Alexander-Arnold that Ben White was picked ahead of him in the latest England squad
Alexander-Arnold is behind a plethora of talent in the bid for an England spot, with the likes of Tino Livramento and Djed Spence being selected in front of him for the latest squad, which Tuchel deemed as the ‘last chance’ for players to seal a spot on the plane for the World Cup in the summer.
Chelsea captain Reece James, who missed the latest squad through injury, is also likely to be ahead of the former Liverpool man in the fight for the starting right-back spot.
Lineker added: ‘You got players playing in his position, with all due respect, that are not in the same league as him, certainly with the ball at his feet.
‘As you saw in these kinds of games, you need someone with a bit of magic to unlock things, and he will provide you that. So it doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t know whether it’s his attitude or whatever it is, I don’t know.
‘But I find it also quite insulting bringing players in. We talk about the Ben White situation, for example, here. He’s not wanted to play for England. I wouldn’t judge him on that because we don’t really know what exactly happened in the camp and his reasons for not playing.
‘The players do within the squad, and you know there were talks about big fall-outs and him not being treated very well, you know, and then Tuchel says he’s called him up, he’s brought him in.
‘That’s fine, but I can’t see how he can still be ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold. I think that it’s really insulting to a seriously top full-back. So that’s my view.’
Following his exclusion from the latest England squad, Alexander-Arnold took to Instagram with the message ‘Madrid. Y nada mas’, which translates to ‘Madrid. And nothing else’.
Tuchel was asked for his views on the post by ITV ahead of England’s friendly against Uruguay, and was empathetic of Alexander-Arnold’s position.
‘As a response to not being nominated?’ Tuchel asked when made aware of the full back’s post. ‘Well, fair enough, fair enough.
‘I think it is a very hard decision that we took. No doubt about his talent, no doubt about his career, and what he can give to teams.
‘We created a slightly different game model when he was not in camp in September, October, November – it was a game model that was built on intensity and positivity, built even on the profile of the right full back on overlaps, underlaps, very intense.
‘It was a slightly different profile of players in camp who performed so well. We just stick to these guys.’
Tuchel’s Three Lions play their second and final friendly of the international break against Japan at Wembley on Tuesday night.