Thomas Tuchel explains shock Jordan Henderson recall with emphatic England claim
New England head coach Thomas Tuchel has given Jordan Henderson a glowing endorsement after opting to hand the veteran midfielder an unexpected recall on Friday
by Dan Marsh · The MirrorThomas Tuchel insists it was a no-brainer to bring Jordan Henderson back into the England fold, citing the midfielder's 'leadership' and 'character' as reasons behind his recall.
Henderson, 34, was the shock inclusion in Tuchel's first Three Lions squad on Friday morning. He is joined by the likes of Marcus Rashford, who has also been recalled after impressing on loan at Aston Villa, and Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly.
The former Liverpool captain won the last of his 81 England caps back in November 2023 after moving to Saudi Arabia and was not selected for Euro 2024 last summer by Gareth Southgate.
Henderson has since returned to Europe with Ajax but was not expected to return to the international fold. Tuchel, though, was quick to sing the midfielder's praises.
"Jordan is a serial winner," the German said in a press conference after being asked about Henderson's recall. "He is captain of Ajax. He is available and has played a lot of matches. What he brings to every team is leadership, character, personality, energy.
"He makes sure that everyone lives by standards and with this characteristic he embodies everything that we try to build. We try to build a team for our fans and a team that they are proud of and can identity with.
"Jordan embodies everything that we want from this team."
Henderson has gone to establish himself as captain at Ajax after joining them in January 2024, though he was the subject of a transfer wrangle involving Monaco in the most recent winter transfer window.
Tuchel went on to reveal that he had sounded out Henderson before pressing ahead with plans to include him in his 26-man squad for this month's World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia.
"We had this phone call a few weeks ago where I wanted to check in, introduce myself and see how he feels about this idea and if he was ready," Tuchel continued. "It was a video call because at least you can see reactions.
"He appreciated it. I didn't call him with an unknown number, I texted him before. For me, it was so nice to see his genuine reaction. He is a serial winner with over 80 caps and just the pure joy and how humble he was to take this decision. It was very impressive."
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