England boss Thomas Tuchel named a 35-man squad for the March internationals against Uruguay and Japan but the Three Lions have already been joined by a Man Utd starlet
England
England have been in training ahead of Friday's clash with Uruguay(Image: Getty Images)
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Manchester United star Ayden Heaven has been invited to train with the England senior side ahead of the Three Lions’ clash with Uruguay. Thomas Tuchel’s men welcome the South American side to Wembley on Friday evening for a friendly clash.
The German head coach named a 35-man squad for the international break, with a host of stars only joining up for the second week. In the meantime, United defender Heaven has been called up to train with the senior side to make up the numbers, as per Sky Sports.
The former Arsenal star had already been handed a spot in the England under-20 squad for the international break and is expected to return to the side for their upcoming games against Spain and Croatia.
Heaven has so far earned two caps for the under-20 side, having made 21 appearances for the Red Devils in all competitions since his arrival from Arsenal.
The young centre-back will be coming up against a number of familiar faces as he trains with England. United stars Harry Maguire and Kobbie Mainoo both earned recalls in Tuchel’s latest squad.
Explaining their respective returns, the German said: “It's just to acknowledge the achievement of Man United as a team. I think they have an outstanding run since Michael Carrick is in charge, and Harry and Kobbie are a big part of that.
“Like I said, it's the last camp before the US and the last chance also for me to get to know new players, to learn about new players. Kobbie is one of them. Harry is not a new player in an England shirt but new to me in a camp.
“I want to see them around other players. I want to feel them on the pitch. I want to see what they're capable of and learn about them to make a clear decision in May.”
Ayden Heaven
Ayden Heaven has made two appearances for the England under-20 side(Image: Getty Images)
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“It is a bit of a mix of motives,” Tuchel added about the decision to split the squad. “It's a bit of a mix of headlines for this camp and to get the best out of this camp, we decided to kind of split it in two camps, which means we invited 19 outfield players and four goalkeepers into the first part of the camp until the match against Uruguay to give these players a real chance to impress, to give the players a real chance to compete for minutes and for minutes against Uruguay and press Uruguay, and then also compete for their ticket to the World Cup.
“From Saturday morning and Friday evening, eleven players will join us in camp and we will then release some players to have a group of 21 or 22 outfield players plus goalkeepers to prepare professionally and with full focus for the Japan match.”
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