Tuchel’s England Squad Decisions: Kane's Backup and New Talent
Thomas Tuchel names his next England squad on Friday, and for once the intrigue is not around Harry Kane. The captain is immovable: freshly crowned Ballon d'Or winner, record goalscorer, the heartbeat of Tuchel’s side and a player who hates leaving the pitch. The real drama lies in the space behind him – the role of understudy in a country suddenly short of true number nines.
A Championship No 9 on the Fast Track?
Dominic Calvert-Lewin knows that role well. He has been in and around England squads before and since the World Cup, but his international career has stalled. Even after a bright start at Leeds, he has not quite convinced Tuchel. In the last window he was given just 15 minutes across two substitute appearances. That is not the profile of a trusted deputy.
So Tuchel has improvised. Jude Bellingham, one of the most gifted midfielders in world football, has been pushed up as an emergency alternative to Kane. It worked in moments, but it is a workaround, not a long-term plan.
This is where Will Lankshear storms into the conversation.
The 21-year-old, like Kane, came through Tottenham’s system before being sold to Middlesbrough in the summer for £20m. It already looks a bargain. Lankshear has 15 goals in all competitions this season, 13 of them in 13 Championship games, dragging Boro to the top of the division with the kind of ruthless finishing England managers tend to notice and remember.
He only made his England Under-21 debut in the last international window. He scored. Now, barely weeks later, he is being talked about as a possible senior call-up despite not playing in the Premier League. That is a serious leap.
Tuchel is fully aware of him. With a shortage of orthodox strikers across England’s age groups, the Germany coach has a decision to make: stick with the flexible option in Bellingham, or reward the pure No 9 who cannot stop scoring. Tuchel has never been shy of a bold selection. Lankshear could be the next one.
Henderson: The Debate That Never Quite Goes Away
Then there is Jordan Henderson. The Chelsea midfielder has not worn an England shirt since the World Cup, when he tumbled over an advertising hoarding after the win over Mexico at the Azteca Stadium and broke his arm. At 36, it felt like the end.
It wasn’t.
Henderson, then at Brentford, made the move to Chelsea as the London club hunted experience to balance a youthful squad. After recovering from that arm injury, he has forced his way into the heart of their midfield. Five consecutive starts, two goals in a win over Bournemouth, and then a minor injury that kept him out of Chelsea’s victory over Manchester United.
Inside the club he remains what he has always been: popular, respected, relentlessly professional. Staff and players value him. Tuchel knows exactly what he would get.
His name on an England squad list has long been a lightning rod for debate. But when a 36-year-old is starting regularly for Chelsea and scoring in the Premier League, the argument shifts. If he is central to a top-flight midfield in west London, does his inclusion really feel so contentious anymore?
New Blood: Dewsbury-Hall and King on the Brink
If Henderson is the old question, the fresh intrigue comes from those chasing a first cap.
Three names are under serious consideration, including Everton’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. At 28, he is not a kid breaking through; this is a player in his prime, finally pushing hard enough that England feels realistic. The Toffees’ No 10 has already turned down the Republic of Ireland as he holds out for the Three Lions. That is not a decision you make lightly.
So far this season he has two goals and two assists in all competitions, one of Everton’s standout performers as they have climbed to seventh in the league. His influence has grown, his risk has been vindicated, and now he waits to see if Tuchel agrees.
Alongside him, Fulham’s Josh King is accelerating towards the senior stage. The 19-year-old has already brushed the edge of a debut: he travelled to the United States as part of England’s preparation squad before the World Cup, in a group that also featured Alex Scott, Ethan Nwaneri and Rio Ngumoha.
Tuchel spoke in his last news conference about how close King is to a call-up. The teenager has impressed for England Under-21s, and his name keeps returning in internal discussions. When a manager says publicly that a player is “close”, it is rarely by accident. King is in the waiting room.
Palmer Under the Microscope
One more subplot runs through this squad announcement: Cole Palmer.
England’s medical team have already checked in on the Chelsea forward as Tuchel weighs up whether to recall him. Palmer, 24, missed all four games in the last international window with a minor injury. Either side of that break, though, he has been trusted at club level – completing 90 minutes against Brentford before those England fixtures and starting again in Chelsea’s first game afterwards.
Back in September, Tuchel did not sugar-coat his view. He said Palmer was “playing with discomfort and pain” and, more pointedly, that he was “missing too many opportunities” with England. The message was clear: talent alone is not enough.
Yet the fact England’s staff are still monitoring him closely tells its own story. Palmer has not been discarded. He remains firmly on Tuchel’s radar, his recall one of the key questions heading into Friday.
A squad built around Kane almost picks itself in certain areas. But this window feels different. A Championship striker tearing up the division, a 36-year-old midfield leader reborn at Chelsea, a Toffees playmaker gambling his international future, a teenage Fulham prospect on the verge, and a gifted forward under scrutiny.
Tuchel has always been a manager who embraces difficult calls. The next England list will show just how brave he is prepared to be.
