90min

Thomas Tuchel confirms stance on Ben White's England return

  • Ben White has not played for England since surprise departure from 2022 World Cup
  • Arsenal defender rejected chance to return under Gareth Southgate
  • Tuchel keen to offer fresh start to White

By Tom Gott

White has been out of the picture
White has been out of the picture / Marc Atkins/GettyImages
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England manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed he plans to offer Arsenal defender Ben White the chance to restart his international career.

White has not represented England since an abrupt departure from the 2022 World Cup and rejected the chance to return to the squad under former boss Gareth Southgate amid speculation of a bust-up with assistant manager Steve Holland.

With Tuchel now at the helm, the German is keen to speak with White and offer the 27-year-old a fresh start.

"I will reach out to him," Tuchel confirmed.

"It should be clean and a clean start and a clear narrative," he continued. "It starts from January. I will be in the stadiums from January.

"I will also not distract the players and they should just know, 'OK, the boss is there from January'. Then I will of course try to speak to them, but also be respectful to the schedule that they have, because schedule is busy in January, especially in the Premier League."

Unfortunately for Tuchel, he will not get the chance to watch White in action for some time. The versatile defender battled injury earlier this season and underwent surgery during the November international break, with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta predicting White would be missing for "months" while he recovers.

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