Jude Bellingham, the unseemly ‘strop’ and what happens next between him and Thomas Tuchel
Jude Bellingham has created more concern about his long-term role with England under Thomas Tuchel after showing his frustrations against Albania.
That is according to former Man United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown, who remains very well-connected within the game, as he exclusively told Football Insider that the pair will have to address the issues and prevent it from spiralling.
Bellingham was left fuming with Tuchel following his withdrawal during England’s 2-0 win, after what proved to be a difficult game for the Real Madrid star.
However, with questions being asked about his attitude both on and off the pitch while on international duty, his actions when taken off have raised concerns again.
This comes after previous suggestions of disagreements between Tuchel and Bellingham after he was left out of the squad during the October break.
Jude Bellingham and Thomas Tuchel set for showdown talks
Brown told Football Insider that Tuchel will speak to Bellingham about his concerns, with suggestions that the manager is still not entirely happy with his player.
The former scout, who has a wealth of experience working with elite-level players and managers including the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson for over a decade, insisted that Tuchel has been left frustrated by Bellingham’s actions and must resolve any issues.
“I do think this could impact his position with England,” he told Football Insider.
“It’s clear Tuchel has a few issues with his attitude or the way he presents himself. Having spoken to him about it before and been left out of the squad the last couple of times, how does he respond to this now?
“I don’t want to make too much of it, because I don’t think it’s a major issue that needs to be blown up, I quite like it when a player wants to be involved as much as possible.
“But it was quite plain that, in the last few minutes of the game, he’s on a yellow card and they don’t want to risk him getting a ban for the World Cup.
“So for him to come off in a strop, that’s not helpful to anybody, and I can see why the manager would raise that as an issue because he can’t have players kicking off.
“At some stage, there will have to be a strong talking to, because they need to sort it out.
“If there’s any issue between them, that has to be resolved because they can’t let it snowball into a bigger thing than it needs to be.”
Tuchel given major selection dilemma ahead of the World Cup
Heading into the 2026 World Cup, the only players who seem nailed-on under Tuchel are Harry Kane, Declan Rice, Marc Guehi, Reece James, and Jordan Pickford.
While Bellingham should be involved, the ongoing disputes with the England boss over his attitude have raised questions about his place in the squad.
Tuchel also seems to prefer Morgan Rogers in the number 10 role, as the Aston Villa star was called upon to start against Serbia before changes were made for Albania.
Dan Burn is also a contender for England, having featured heavily under the German manager, while his height makes him a threat from set-piece situations.
With just one international break between now and the World Cup kicking off, the boss still has a number of major decisions which need to be made.
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