Tuchel’s reasoning for Grealish’s omission suggests even a full season in this form may not be enough for the winger to make the World Cup squad
Among the players Thomas Tuchel has never picked for England, none have commanded his time quite like Jack Grealish.
Not a squad announcement goes by without the Everton winger being name-checked, and now four down as England manager it appears Tuchel may never pick the player whose name rarely escapes our lips.
In March and June, the omissions were understandable, with Grealish a Manchester City afterthought and essentially told by an admiring Tuchel that he must move clubs in order to return to the England fold.
“I love Jack,” Tuchel said in March. “I love everything about him – his personality, his quality, his courage.” The German then reiterated this love in June, adding Grealish “needs to make himself available by playing”.
Grealish obliged by joining Everton on loan, and he quickly thrived in a new shade of blue when named Premier League player of the month – for the first time in his career – in August.
And as of now, six games down, Grealish leads the way in the league for assists (four) and chances created (17).
But all this has not been enough, with Everton’s X account pointedly retweeting their 1 October post about chances created after Grealish was left out of the England squad to face Wales and Latvia.
The unjustness felt by the club’s social media admin echoes beyond Merseyside, for if there really is love from Tuchel’s perspective, then this can only fall into the tough-love category.
“Jack is very close to being the best version of himself, a very special player, a very special character,” Tuchel said on Friday.
In spite of this glowing reference, the fact the England door remains shut on Grealish is further proof he has always been judged differently.
For years now, his antics away from the pitch – including having the temerity to celebrate winning the Treble with a few drinks – have made him a tabloid favourite, the very ordinariness of this extraordinary player making for an endearing yet fallible character.
He is Jack the lad who picks up tabs at social clubs, a charming human who was at odds with Pep Guardiola and the City machine, meaning the lens was often sharpened when he did eventually play.
Held to a higher standard than his rivals, Tuchel has continued this trend into Grealish’s Everton spell, where numbers have gone ignored despite this being the supposed path.
Perhaps then this is why the latest omission feels by far the most damning, and at this rate it is difficult to envisage how a 30-year-old Grealish displaces other wingers in this squad, and indeed what more he has to do to force his way back into the reckoning.
Far more alarming for Grealish was Tuchel’s repeated stance about the make-up of this squad, where there is also no place for Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden or Adam Wharton either.
“We reached a new level and new standards in the last camp,” Tuchel said. “It was clearly visible in the match against Serbia. Why not pick the same players and squad if they are available?
“They set the standard and now they have to make sure the standards become more stable.”
Tuchel’s reasoning makes the last few weeks of domestic football count for nowt, and his decision to stick where possible left him fighting fires in Friday’s press conference.
The focus was on the players left out, Bellingham above all.
“Do I believe we’re a stronger team with Jude? Yes,” Tuchel said.
“Is he one of the best players in the world in midfield? Yes. But what are we doing if a player like Jude is injured before the World Cup? Do we not travel? This is a team sport.
“We found solutions in the last camp. This is more about the last camp and what we started to build than the dependency on individual players.”
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The assessment that largely applied to Bellingham was far and away a more blatant indicator that Grealish may continue to miss out despite following Tuchel’s orders.
He is the star at Everton but the square peg to England’s round holes, with Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford clearly favoured and loved more by Tuchel.
“Just keep on pushing,” says Tuchel, but Grealish may well ask to what end. If form is not enough for a place in this squad, then you could forgive him for thinking the England ship has sailed without him for good.