THOMAS TUCHEL is working off a massive 55-man list ahead of naming his first England squad.
The new Three Lions manager will name his first squad tomorrow week for the home World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia.
Thomas Tuchel has a pool of 55 players he will pick his squad fromPA
And Tuchel is keeping an open mind over who to select by looking at such a vast number of stars at home and abroad.
The German has spoken to the vast majority of the players with Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham impressed with the former Chelsea manager who officially started on January 1.
Tuchel, who is based in London, has been working at St George’s Park this week while he also went to Nottingham Forest vs Ipswich in the FA Cup on Monday.
The 51-year-old succeeds Gareth Southgate and has signed an 18-month contract which will end after the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Bullingham said: “I think Gareth was very, very connected and very smart culturally, as well.
“I think Thomas is the same and he realised early on that you don’t build those connections with players in the 60 days you get together [over the course of the year], so he’s put a lot of effort into that.
“I think he’s got 55 on this long list and makes sure that he’s got a strong connection with them, that they know that he’s seen them.
It’s not only the players in England, it’s players playing abroad as well, and I think that that will only stand [him] in a good stead in the long run.
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“He’s made a really strong impact and has hit the ground running. I think you’ve seen him in a number of games. He’s also integrated a small number of his sports team he brought with him into SGP. He’s been up there a lot and spent a lot of time with people.
“We’ve already started looking at some of the challenges ahead in terms of America and the different dynamics that that presents in terms of climate, distance, altitude, and that type of thing.
“But yes, we all want to get the first game, don’t we? And we are looking forward to that.”
Incredibly, Tuchel’s first game against Albania on March 21 is already a Wembley sell-out. The game against Latvia three days later is expected to attract a crowd of at least 70,000.
Bullingham also hinted that Tuchel could stay beyond his current deal.
He added: “I think Thomas always said ‘I might be here for 10 years, but I’ll only ever sign up in two-year cycles’ effectively.
“And the reason for that is he just wants his sole focus to be on the next tournament and be really single-minded with the players on that, but it’s very early to judge, but I can say that he’s made a brilliant impact already, so we’re very happy with them.
“We had a brilliant team before, so he had a hard act to follow, but it is just the way he’s integrated into SGP and the impact he’s made on the team up there has been really positive.
“He’s an incredibly charismatic and energetic individual, so I expected that positive impact and have just been pleased with it.”
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