The ignominy keeps coming for Manchester United this week, as Thomas Tuchel has named an England squad without a single player from the Old Trafford club.
It’s certainly not unusual for an international manager to overlook players languishing in 16th place in the Premier League but, while they may be chronically underperforming, United’s players are mostly used to representing their countries.
Of the squad’s English contingent, only Harry Maguire has any serious claim to a space in Tuchel’s group after a decent run of form in red.
Fellow countryman Luke Shaw has returned to the first team after another period of extended injury but looks dramatically off the pace.
In midfield, Kobbie Mainoo has been struggling for regular minutes and an established role in Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation, while Mason Mount’s Europa League semi-final heroics appear to have been a flash in the pan rather than a sensational finding of form.
It’s therefore unsurprising to see Tuchel looking elsewhere for personnel in the middle of the park, but Maguire could be forgiven for feeling a degree of frustration.
The German coach has been very clear in his reasoning for overlooking the 32-year-old, whose place has been taken by Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah.
As per the Manchester Evening News, Tuchel explained his decision and referenced Maguire’s uses as an emergency centre-forward – something United fans are all too familiar with.
“He is always in my thoughts because he covers, of course, the position of a central defender but also as a number 9, as you know!” he said.
Tuchel continued: “He is always in our thoughts, he is always a threat from set-pieces, he has a big personality and he steps up in difficult times, as you can see at his club. He is always in our thoughts.”
After explaining that Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn, Marc Guehi and Levi Colwill keep their places, he expanded on why he handed Chalobah his first senior call-up at the expense of Maguire.
“We see, at this very moment, Trevoh a little bit ahead of Harry. I think that I have a very clear picture of what Harry represents and what Harry can do and what he will bring to the squad.
“I am not so clear about how Trevoh will behave in this environment, so this is where it is. I think performance-wise, Trevoh is a step ahead at the moment; he is involved in a fight for a Champions League campaign and that’s why.”
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
