Thomas Tuchel addresses possible return of ex-Man Utd man to England squad

England boss Thomas Tuchel has claimed that former Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood is not currently close to a potential Three Lions recall.

Greenwood has not played for England since August 2020, when the ex-Red Devils striker made his debut against Iceland in a 1-0 win in a Nations League fixture.

Phil Foden and Greenwood were later withdrawn from the England squad after the pair broke Covid-19 guidelines in Iceland by leaving their hotel.

While at Man Utd, the 23-year-old was suspended by the Red Devils on January 30, 2022 over allegations relating to a young woman after images and videos were posted online.

He faced charges including attempted rape and assault, but the Crown Prosecution Service announced in February 2023 that the case had been discontinued.

Greenwood eventually left Old Trafford in July 2024 when he joined Marseille in a deal worth €31.6m with Man Utd retaining a 50 per cent sell-on clause.

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The 23-year-old has performed well in France with Greenwood starting off the new campaign with one goal and two assists in his first three appearances.

Greenwood qualifies to play for Jamaica through his Grandad and is currently exploring whether to switch allegiances from England.

Despite Reggae Boyz boss Steve McClaren obtaining a Jamaican passport for Greenwood, the former Premier League striker has asked for more time to decide his international future.

When asked about a potential England return for Greenwood, Tuchel said: “I have not spoken to him until now. I have not spoken to him or his camp.

“My understanding was that he tries to play for Jamaica, so we didn’t give it another thought.

“He was not in the mix at the moment and he is not in our thoughts for our team. I don’t rule anything out, but he is no priority at the moment.”

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While Jamaica boss McClaren has outlined the situation surrounding Greenwood with Jamaica, he said: “We acquired a passport and we expected him to be coming to this camp, but in a conversation with his family, he’s not going to commit at this time to anybody.

“It’s a little bit disappointing, we probably have to be more patient. We will keep pursuing him because I know from my conversations with Mason that he loves Jamaica.

“He wants to concentrate on club football and not commit to an international team at the moment. He’s taking his time over that. Who knows in the future?

“I get that he loves Jamaica, he respects Jamaica. As soon as that decision was made and he couldn’t commit, you move on. You don’t harp on it and don’t go, ‘What if this?’ or ‘what if that?’ — you move on and control what you can control.”

Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson will compete for minutes in midfield for England over the next week as they face Andorra and Serbia in World Cup qualifiers.

And Tuchel admits he’s still attempting to find the right pairing in central midfield, he added: “At the moment the four players are competing in central midfield, Jordan [Henderson], Declan [Rice], Elliot [Anderson] and Ruben [Loftus-Cheek]. They are all very mobile players.

“There is not one pivotal, classic, deep number six. Except maybe John Stones, who fits this characteristic. But he left this morning.

“The strength of our players is to be mobile, and in modern-day football that is more of an advantage than a disadvantage. We have our ideas of how we will set up and you will hopefully see some glimpses of it tomorrow and against Serbia, and from there we will go.

“We have top players and we will find the right pairing. We have to be flexible because anything can happen, someone can be injured and it is not the moment to make a final decision for the World Cup.”

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