Manchester United midfielder Mason Mount has revealed the details of a surprise phone call from England manager Thomas Tuchel, offering hope of a first international recall in two-and-a-half years.
Mount’s last cap came in England’s World Cup quarter-final elimination to France back in December 2022. In the following summer, the Portsmouth-born playmaker moved to Manchester United, where injuries have derailed his form for club and country.
Over the final few months of last season, Mount belatedly regained his fitness to feature in the club’s last 14 games of the campaign. The 26-year-old is targeting a more prominent role next term which could lead to a long-awaited international recall.
That process began with a ring from Tuchel. “He called me and he said that he’s calling a lot of players and just wanted to catch up,” Mount revealed during United’s pre-season U.S. tour. “I don’t know how many players he probably called, 40 or 50 maybe. But it was good to see his face, good to catch up with him and good to speak to him.”
Tuchel used Mount more than any other player during his trophy-littered spell at Chelsea, although there is no suggestion that this favouritism will persist.
“I played quite a bit under him,” Mount mused. “We won the Champions League, so that’s a positive. But I think with England it’s totally different now; the competition for places, the amount of people he can pick, it’s a bit different than club football. So I don’t think it goes hand in hand.
“He said to me, ‘There’s no guarantees, even though you played for me.’ But it gives you more. You want to push even more to be able to be back in the squad. So it was really good to speak to him and see what he’s preparing.
“He looked very excited and had loads of energy, like I remember, and was bang up for the new role.”
Mount has no shortage of competition for a starting berth at England. Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice are all-but guaranteed of a role in midfield while Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers has impressed during Tuchel’s opening burst of fixtures. Even veteran Jordan Henderson has managed to sneak into an international scene which is also littered with Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Eberechi Eze, Morgan Gibbs-White and many more.
England have two World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia at the start of September with another pair of camps planned for October and November.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Push Even More’—Man Utd Misfit Reveals Surprise Thomas Tuchel Talks Over England Return.