Tuchel Plans Talks with Arsenal's White Upon Becoming England Manager

Tuchel expressed his intent to reach out to Ben White following his appointment as the England team's coach. White, away from the squad since 2022, might rejoin.

Thomas Tuchel revealed his intention to "reach out" to "Arsenal" defender Ben White when he officially assumes the role of England manager. White has not represented his nation since a friendly win over "Cote d’Ivoire" in March 2022. He was part of the England squad for the World Cup in Qatar but returned home during the group stage without playing any minutes.

Various reports suggested that the ex-"Brighton" player left the camp for personal reasons, although this was merely the tip of the iceberg. It was widely reported that White didn't get along with Gareth Southgate's assistant manager Steve Holland, who supposedly remarked that the "Arsenal" star 'wasn’t sufficiently interested in football'. With Southgate and Holland at the helm of the "Three Lions", White made himself unavailable for selection.

However, the 27-year-old might return under incoming manager Tuchel, who learned of his team's opponents in their 2026 World Cup qualification group on Friday. Speaking on Friday, the German described it as a "clean start" for the national team, and that he plans to contact White in the New Year. "I will reach out to him," Tuchel said. "It should be a clean start and a clear narrative. "I will be in the stadiums from January. I will not distract players either, they should just be aware, 'OK, the boss is around from January'."

White evidently desires to play for his country, revealing that he cried for an hour after his initial call-up in 2021. He stated at the time, "I got a phone call, got told the news, I was out for dinner, I didn’t really believe it! "I put the phone down, rang my mum straight away, sat there, cried, mum was crying, mum, dad, all my sisters were there and, yeah, I just sat and cried for about an hour."

Currently, White is sidelined, having undergone surgery on a knee issue last month. "Arsenal" manager Mikel Arteta confirmed: "Ben White is going to be out for months, unfortunately. It's been different kinds of struggles, never the same thing."