New Tuchel claim on Bellingham reveals new reason for shock England snub amid difficult return route

New Tuchel claim on Bellingham reveals new reason for shock England snub amid difficult return route

Thomas Tuchel has hinted at another reason for rejecting Jude Bellingham, who has a difficult route back to England’s first XI…

Bellingham has been conspicuous by his absence during this international break after Tuchel boldly decided to leave him out of his latest England squad.

The Real Madrid star, who is somehow only 22, missed the start of this campaign with a shoulder injury, though he has played for 116 minutes in their last four games as he builds match fitness.

The world-class midfielder presumably felt that this international break had come at the perfect time because he needed minutes, but Tuchel had another idea as he left Bellingham, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Adam Wharton out of his October squad.

Tuchel has publicly stated that he wanted to show faith to the players who served him well in last month’s 5-0 win against Serbia, with the four starting XI changes for Thursday’s 3-0 victory over Wales brought about via injuries to Harry Kane, Noni Madueke, Tino Livramento and Reece James.

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His snub of Bellingham and others also acts to send a message to the whole squad, with it clear that no one is safe and places will be decided on merit, albeit via a sprinkle of favouritism.

Gary Lineker has raised an alternative reason for Tuchel snubbing Bellingham, claiming he and others may have purely been rested for the simple games against Wales and Latvia.

In Bellingham’s absence, Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers, who is clearly one of Tuchel’s favourites, started and scored against Wales, while Foden and Cole Palmer are also waiting in the wings to potentially start as a No.10.

And Tuchel shed light on another reason behind his decision on Bellingham after the Wales game, claiming his side “need” to learn how to “play without” him and Kane.

“[Rogers] is what he is. He is a number 10 and he is competing for his place. He is in a good way,” Tuchel said.

“We are ready for any team effort. Serbia was the next example of teamwork. We created a lot of chances.

“We could use Harry all the time, but we need to play without Harry and Jude – the guys are injured. I think we played an excellent first half.”

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Declan Rice, meanwhile, admitted that he “misses” Bellingham, while he is hoping that he and other key stars are “back” for next month’s international break.

“I think every time you play for England, you want to grab the shirt, you want to grab your chance.

“But we do miss Jude, for sure. We miss Phil, we miss Cole, we miss loads of players for reasons that the manager’s obviously said. We are obviously an unreal team, and they’re in the team as well. Let’s not get away from that.

“What they’ve done in an England shirt is incredible. We’re looking forward to having them back next camp, hopefully.

“As a team, we want to keep integrating everyone as much as possible before the World Cup. I think that’s the most important thing, and we’ve done that in the past.”

Despite Rice’s sentiment, there is no easy road back to the starting XI for Bellingham.

Unlike fellow stalwarts Kane, Rice and Jordan Pickford, Bellingham faces a huge fight for his place as there is overwhelming competition in the No.10 position, and Tuchel’s recent decisions prove that he is a big admirer of Rogers.

So Tuchel is ensuring that Bellingham, as with the rest of his players, needs to prove his worth, and this necessary switch post-Gareth Southgate could spark a fire in the midfielder ahead of next year’s World Cup.

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