Ivan Toney handed surprise England recall and defender gets first call-up as Thomas Tuchel snubs Man United

Thomas Tuchel has recalled striker Ivan Toney to the England squad for the upcoming matches against Andorra and Senegal.

The Al-Ahli star has not featured for the Three Lions since his late cameo appearance in the Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain last July.

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Toney, who left Brentford for the Saudi Pro League side in a £40million deal in August, has continued his fine goalscoring form in the Middle East.

His goals helped Al-Ahli lift their first AFC Champions League title this season and Tuchel is convinced the 29-year-old still has plenty to offer at International level.

Tuchel opted against calling up any players from both Tottenham or Manchester United, leaving out Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Kobbie Mainoo and Dominic Solanke.

Chelsea, on the other hand, have five players in the squad – more than any other club – despite their involvement in the Club World Cup shortly after the international fixtures.

Defender Trevoh Chalobah has been handed his first senior call-up by ex-Blues boss Tuchel.

There was no return for Arsenal’s Ben White who had been tipped to make his first squad since the 2022 World Cup.

England travel to Andorra on June 7 as the look to continued their 100 per cent start to World Cup qualifying before facing Senegal in a friendly at the City Ground three days later.

Tuchel admits he hasn’t watched Toney live during his time in Saudi Arabia but will use the upcoming matches to take a closer look at the former Brentford man.

“We follow him closely like all the players on our list and it’s the same for Ivan. He played a lot, we watched him a lot and he had decisive contributions to goals in important matches.

“He won a big title with his club the Asian Champions League. I didn’t have the opportunity to see him live in Saudi Arabia so we took the possibility to fly him in to our camp and watch him live within the group.

“He will compete with Harry [Kane] and Ollie Watkins. It will be interesting, we have three strikers in camp.”

Tuchel has plenty to choose from in defence and particularly at full-back with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kyle Walker and Reece James all at his disposal.

That has meant no place for Arsenal’s White who missed out on a potential return during March’s international’s due to injury.

White’s two-and-a-half year exile from international football came after he failed to register any game time at the World Cup.

The 27-year-old subsequently made himself for England selection although former boss Gareth Southgate stated that there had been no rift between the pair.

Reports later claimed that White’s decision was triggered by a bust-up with former assistance coach Steve Holland.

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White recently revealed that he had spoken to Tuchel about a return to the England fold and admitted that he was ready to play for his country again.

June international fixtures will signal the end of a gruelling campaign for many of England’s stars but for others, it is the beginning of a busy summer of club football.

Manchester City and Chelsea are the Premier League’s representatives in the revamped FIFA Club World Cup which takes place in United States from June 15 to July 13.

England stars plying their trade oversees will also take part in the tournament with Jude Bellingham and Conor Gallagher representing Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid respectively.

Meanwhile, Captain Harry Kane will be aiming for the second trophy of his career when Bayern head for the USA after the conclusion of the internationals.

There will be just a five-week break between the end of the FIFA Club World Cup and the start of the 2025/26 Premier League season in what is likely to cause further player unrest around the current packed fixture schedule.