Phil Foden is pushing for an England recall after enjoying a resurgence at Manchester City. The attacker asked to be left out of the squad in June, in part because he wanted to refocus by spending some time away from football after a difficult season, and was not picked by Thomas Tuchel for last month’s World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.
Foden struggled with an ankle knock during pre-season and has been working his way back to peak physical condition. The 25-year-old has impressed for City in recent weeks, particularly in victories over Manchester United and Napoli, and will hope to be involved when Tuchel names his latest squad on Friday.
England, who host Wales in a friendly next Thursday and visit Latvia for their next qualifier on 14 October, have plenty of options in attacking midfield. But with Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke ruled out, there is an opening for Foden to come back into the fold. Jude Bellingham is also available after recovering from a shoulder operation.
The challenge with Foden, who has scored twice in seven appearances this season, remains finding the right role for him at international level. He has dazzled in flashes but has lacked consistency and competition for places in attack is rising. Tuchel, who also has Bukayo Saka available again, wanted more from Foden when England beat Latvia and Albania in March.
Another attacker hoping to be included is Jack Grealish, although the Everton winger may be left disappointed given that Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon and Barcelona’s Marcus Rashford have Tuchel’s trust at the moment. Grealish has not played for England since scoring in last year’s win over Finland.
The Wales game gives Tuchel a chance to run the rule over a host of hopefuls. There are expected to be further opportunities for Tottenham’s Djed Spence and Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White. John Stones could return in defence after withdrawing from the last camp through injury while the absence of the Newcastle defender Tino Livramento gives Tuchel room to look at another full-back.
Livramento’s Newcastle teammate Lewis Hall is back in contention and there are calls for Tuchel to consider the Crystal Palace left-back Tyrick Mitchell. An eye-catching move would be to bring the Arsenal defender Ben White back into the England picture. The Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton is in good form after pulling out of the September camp with an adductor injury.