Nottingham Forest snub addressed as Joey Barton hits out at Thomas Tuchel's England decision

Outspoken Joey Barton has questioned the lack of Nottingham Forest representation in Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad.

Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Elliot Anderson are all having fine seasons for the Champions League-chasing Reds and would have had hopes of being called up. However, no Forest players were included when Tuchel named his squad for World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia on Friday.

Reds fans hit out at the trio being snubbed on social media, and now Barton has had his say on the matter with the former Bristol Rovers manager also querying the absence of Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri and Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite.

Addressing Tuchel’s squad, he posted on X: “No Gibbs-White or Elliot Anderson? No Nwaneri? No Brainthwaite? 4 goalies? And Jordan Henderson?”

In a separate post, Barton pointed out that Spain have been prepared to call upon teenager Lamine Yamal. He added: “But we still pick (Jordan) Henderson and (Kyle) Walker, who’ve been great servants but, let’s be honest, their best days are way behind them. What more can the Forest lads do?”

Tuchel had watched Forest in action prior to naming his squad, most recently being in attendance at the City Ground for last week’s FA Cup victory over Ipswich Town. Gibbs-White, in particular, would have hoped for an inclusion having made his England debut under interim boss Lee Carsley last year.

Reds head coach Nuno Espirito Santo said on Thursday he had not spoken to Tuchel about any of his players. “No, not yet. If he wants, I am free,” the Portuguese explained. “But I think it is for everybody to see. The national team coaches make a lot of observational games because they are looking at possible players for their squads. If Thomas has been here, it's because he is counting on our players.”

Did Tuchel get it wrong over the Forest trio? Click HERE to have your say

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