England head coach Thomas Tuchel has made a surprise claim regarding how highly he regards one of Chelsea's Three Lions stars compared to his counterparts.
On Friday evening, former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel oversaw England's 1-1 draw with Uruguay in a friendly at Wembley, where he picked a heavily rotated side, with the starters all getting the night off.
Some players did not take their opportunity, whilst others did, including Chelsea's own Cole Palmer, as well as James Garner and Harry Maguire.
The latter impressed many with his performance at centre half, where he partnered Cobham graduate Fikayo Tomori. However, Tuchel himself has suggested that a Chelsea defender is ahead of the Manchester United man in the pecking order.
Indeed, as the 53-year-old said, as quoted by Dom Smith via CFCDaily: "I haven't changed my mind, but I see other players I like to start for us, I see other players ahead with a different profile. I see Ezri Konsa ahead. I see Marc Guehi ahead. It's no secret. I see Trevoh Chalobah, on the level of mobility, as slightly ahead of him (Maguire)."
Some interesting comments. It certainly feels harsh on the 32-year old after his performances last night. Is Chalobah even that mobile himself? Perhaps more so than Maguire, but the latter certainly has other attributes in which he is much better.
The Chelsea number 23 picked up an untimely injury in the second leg against PSG that will see him missing for most of the remainder of this season. Considering the comments from Tuchel and the bloated 35-man squad, he would have almost certainly been in the squad for this camp, whether in the "A" team or "B" team.
If we see Chalobah at the World Cup, there could be some serious Cobham representation. Defenders Lewis Hall and Tomori have been selected in this squad, and Reece James is a sure-fire selection if he can return to fitness ahead of the tournament. Then, you have Guehi almost certain to start.
That said, if Chalobah does get picked, it means Tomori is less likely to, though the AC Milan defender did his no-chances, absolutely no harm on Friday evening, with an assured performance and a clean sheet during his 69 minutes on the pitch.
Even from a Chelsea persuasion, these comments feel a little surprising from Tuchel, it has to be said. But it would be pretty cool for Chalobah to be in the final squad, nevertheless. Let's wait and see. It certainly feels like it would be beneficial to get a couple of games in before the end of the season.
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