The defender has expressed an interest to return to the Three Lions squad under new boss Thomas Tuchel, having refused to honour call-ups from ex-manager Gareth Southgate.
England manager Thomas Tuchel has disclosed that Arsenal defender Ben White is now open to returning to the national team setup after not featuring since the 2022 World Cup.
White had a bitter fallout with former manager Gareth Southgate’s assistant Steve Holland during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and he made it clear that he was not ready to play for the national team while they were still in charge.
However, now with Tuchel in charge, following his appointment in January, White is ready to end his self-imposed exile and has told the new manager that he would like to be involved again.
While unveiling his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia on Friday, Tuchel opened up about the conversation he has had with White, who was not named in the team for a number of reasons.
Benni McCarthy names a 32-man Harambee Stars squad for crucial World Cup qualifiers against Gambia and Gabon, blending experience and youth.
“He’d love to be back in the squad. I just think it’s a bit too early now given the seriousness of the injury that he had,” Tuchel told the media, explaining that the knee injury White sustained, which needed surgery and later kept him out of action from November 2024 to February this year, was behind his exclusion.
“We are honoured speaking to him, speaking to Ben, delighted that he’s back on the bench. Now it’s just a question of getting more minutes, more rhythm. He wants to be back,” added Tuchel.
White has just four caps for England and would have played a major part since the 2022 World Cup given the options that were available to Southgate at right-back but he chose to stay away even when he has been first-choice for Arsenal in his position.
Tuchel picked Chelsea’ Reece James, Kyle Walker, on loan at AC Milan from Manchester City, and Newcastle United’s Tino Livramento as his right-backs but White will likely get the nod during the next international window in June.
)
Tottenham coach Ange Postecoglou has been urged to make a ruthless decision on Harambee Stars prospect Djed Spence ahead of their Europa Legaue clash against AZ Alkmaar.
