Morgan Gibbs-White has spoken after his late call-up (Image: Getty)
Morgan Gibbs-White has revealed how Thomas Tuchel's personal phone call turned disappointment into joy for the Nottingham Forest midfielder. Initially snubbed from the England squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia, Gibbs-White expressed his frustration in being overlooped.
However, Chelsea ace Cole Palmer's injury opened an unexpected door and Tuchel was quick to check whether Gibbs-White still held any grudges over his initial omission. Gibbs-White explained: "It was about 4 or 5 o'clock on Sunday. The manager, Thomas, sent me a message to say 'are you free to talk?' And I think I replied within like 30 seconds 'yeah.'
"He phoned me up and said 'are you still upset with me, or do you want to come and join us and fancy training tomorrow?'
"Obviously, there's no question there. I said I'd obviously love to come and join and train with the boys, so, yeah, found out Sunday late afternoon-ish and I was just smiling from ear to ear."
Following the initial decision, Gibbs-White spoke of how he understood the competition he faces within the England squad, acknowledging the immense talent pool. His form for Forest has been instrumental in their chase for a Champions League spot though, making his brief exclusion all the more perplexing to fans and pundits alike.
Thomas Tuchel called Gibbs-White to invite him to join up with the squad (Image: Getty)
He told BBC 5Live: "Obviously I was upset. Yeah, a little bit disappointed. But at the same time, you also have to look at the quality of players that England have at the minute, so obviously I took that into consideration.
"But when he told me, I respected his decision. The standard of players, like I said, is top level. I said to him back like 'I feel like I've done enough to get the call up, considering the form level that we were in, but obviously you're the manager, you make the decisions, and I respect that totally'.
"So, yeah, obviously, it was disappointing but then Sunday I got the call, so I was straight here. I feel like the season that me and the club, Forest, are having at the minute is definitely the best form I think I've been in, so coming here with that confidence and that level of football at the minute, I feel like I'm in a really good place. But, like I said, I'm just here now to help the team as much as possible, help the staff."
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Reflecting on his experience with England's new coach Tuchel, Gibbs-White praised the newly-appointed boss for his personable approach from day one.
He concluded: "To be fair, he's been incredible. I think he's done it with he most of players. As soon as he got the job, he's been in contact with quite a majority of their players. He's a really easygoing sort of guy, nice to speak to and, you know, he just sort of says the things like he's coming to watch everyone play games and stuff.
"I feel like it was, for him, important to try and get that bond straight away with players because he's used to club football, so he's used to spending time every day with players. I felt like it was the top from him, really good that, that he sort of started that relationship before even meeting us, which is really good. So, yeah, just delighted to be here now."
