Thomas Tuchel asked surprise England U21 player to train with senior team and fans are demanding he’s now called up

Thomas Tuchel has called up an England U21 player to train with the senior squad ahead of his first matches in charge this week.

England take on Albania and Latvia in World Cup qualifiers on Friday and Monday respectively, with both matches taking place at Wembley.

Tuchel named a 26-man squad last Friday, but was forced to add Morgan Gibbs-White to his selection as a replacement for Cole Palmer, who suffered a suspected muscle injury before Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.

Aside from that, no other players have pulled out through injury or other issues, meaning the German has his full squad to choose from.

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But, as is commonplace on international camps, Tuchel has elected to include an England U21 player in senior training to bolster numbers.

He has chosen Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton to train with the main squad after being selected in Lee Carsley’s U21 setup.

Tuchel specifically visited a Palace match last month to watch the former Blackburn midfielder in action.

Wharton was selected in England’s Euro 2024 squad by Gareth Southgate after an impressive second half of the Premier League season for what was then his new club.

But he missed three months of action between October and January this season through a groin problem, which may have formed part of the reason why Tuchel did not select him this time around.

However, the German can now see Wharton up close at St George’s Park, with the 20-year-old hoping to give him a selection headache for future squads.

Tuchel received criticism from some quarters for recalling 34-year-old Jordan Henderson to the squad over the likes of Wharton, Gibbs-White or Tottenham’s James Maddison, but the new Three Lions boss explained his reasoning in a press conference on Friday.

He said: “Football in general, and maybe even more international football, is about team spirit. It is about building a team that loves to play with each other, that transports the spirit to the fans, the nation and the country.

“It is about building a brotherhood. So we cannot only do it with young players, and we cannot only do it with experienced players.

“It has to be a good balance and a good mix, in my opinion, and that’s what we’re trying to do.

“Without doubt, players like Dan Burn and Jordan Henderson bring something to a group, from leadership and devotion and being humble, and from setting the standards and taking care about the respect in the group.”