Jack Grealish and Phil Foden ‘want something to happen to’ Jude Bellingham
Jack Grealish and Phil Foden will be hoping for an injury to Jude Bellingham to play in their preferred position under new England coach Thomas Tuchel, Tim Sherwood has suggested.
The Manchester City duo have both struggled for large spells of this season, as the club sit fifth in the Premier League, just four points above Bournemouth in ninth.
Foden will be disappointed with his impact this term, as he is yet to replicate the form showed last season, with his 19 goals and eight assists earning him the PFA Player of the Year Award.
For Grealish, much of this campaign would have been about earning consistent minutes and re-establishing his importance to Man City’s system.
However, the pair have failed to do so thus far and as a result, Foden has been forced to play off the right for the national side in the absence of Bukayo Saka while Grealish missed out on Tuchel’s first England squad all together.
Former Tottenham and Blackburn midfielder Sherwood, has claimed that the pair will “want something to happen” to Bellingham in order to get a chance in a central attacking-midfield role.
Bellingham is England’s best number 10
Tim Sherwood on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday [12.37pm, 29 March] said: “[Tuchel’s] is going to put the best player, what he thinks, in that position and people like Foden are going to get left out. Quality [players] like Jack Grealish are going to get left out because Bellingham is in their position.
“We saw when [Lee] Carsley took over and we saw Jack Grealish play in that 10 role, he was magnificent, he was dribbling, he was going past people, he was setting up chances for everyone. He’s not going to get the chance to do that.
“Because Bellingham is [Tuchel’s] number 10. Now if you’re Foden or you’re Grealish you want something to happen to Bellingham for you to get an opportunity, it’s as simple as that. That’s how the world goes round as a footballer.”
Grealish and Foden have challenge to convince Thomas Tuchel
Football Insider verdict
For Tuchel, there is precious little time to waste as England manager. The 51-year-old signed an 18-month contract to guide the team through the 2026 World Cup, therefore he requires players that are able to make an impact now.
While there is little doubt surrounding Foden and Grealish in terms of ability, both have had somewhat underwhelming careers at international level.
For a player that had 27 goal involvements in the league only last season, Foden has now gone 20 caps without scoring or assisting, while featuring in every game across 622 minutes at the European Championships in 2024.
| Foden stats for Man City | Foden stats for England |
| Games – 308 | Games – 44 |
| Goals – 97 | Goals – 4 |
| Assists – 60 | Assists – 9 |
| Goals per game – 0.31 | Goals per game – 0.09 |
| Assists per game – 0.19 | Assists per game – 0.2 |
Grealish shares a similar story in an England shirt, with perhaps his best moment being the assist for Harry Kane to put England 2-0 up against Germany at Euro 2020, as he never maintained a consistent position under Gareth Southgate.
The aim for the 29-year-old will be to rekindle his form, whether his future lies at or away from Man City, if Grealish is to have any hope of making the England squad in the future.
In comparison to Tuchel’s preferred option, Bellingham has time and time again stepped up for his country, none more than his overhead kick equaliser to save England going out in the round-of-16 against Slovakia last summer.
Bellingham provides the perfect blend between reliability, consistency and flair for Tuchel’s system, which as of date Foden and Grealish have been unable to match for the Three Lions.