Thomas Tuchel has revealed that he made the controversial call to call Jordan Henderson in his first English team six weeks ago.
Henderson has not played for the national team since November 2023, only a few months after he left Liverpool to move to Al-Intifaq in Saudi Arabia.
He was then booed by England fans on his return to Wembley and was omitted from Gareth Southgate's Euro 2024 team despite returning to Europe to play for Ajax last January.
It seemed that the England days of the 81-CAP International were over, but Tuchel called him back and insists that he never had doubts about bringing Henderson into the fold.
Askey why he had recorded Henderson, Tuchel told ITV Sport: 'He embodies everything. He is a serial winner, his personality, character. He is the glue in every team where he played and he will be the glue that makes things special. '
Tuchel continued: 'When I talk to players, I talk to the staff, I talk to people in the federation, his name came up permanently.
'Initially it was not my idea from the first day, but it was so logical to recall him then because his name was always in the discussions.
“I called him and I have to say after this phone call six weeks ago for 15/20 minutes ago, I was quite convinced that I need this guy in the camp.”
Henderson will be 36 during the World Cup of next year and has been playing away from the Premier League for almost two seasons.
But Tuchel's comments suggest that it is unlikely that his recall is a one-off, and that he sees the Ajax midfielder as an important part of his plans.
His words can run the risk of getting angry some fans of England who were shocked to see the name of Henderson on the squadron list again last week.
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