London, May 23 (IANS) Head coach Thomas Tuchel fully backed the return of Ivan Toney after the 29-year-old was called up to the England squad for the first time since joining Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli.

Toney was a part of the England squad which lost in the 2024 European Championship finals, in which he appeared as a substitute, but was left out of Tuchel’s squad in March. However, 28 goals in 42 appearances for Al-Ahli this season saw him earn his place back.

“He deserves to be with us, and I am convinced because he scored over 20 goals for his team this season. He won a major title in the Asian Champions League, and he made a big contribution with goals and assists.

“It is a good occasion now to also test new players, see new players in the environment. We decided to nominate three strikers in the squad. I had a call with Dom Solanke who deserved to be with us and won a big trophy this season but he was in camp already and I have a clear picture of what he can bring and now is the moment to see new players and get a feel for them in the group,” said Tuchel in a press conference.

The German coach also explained that Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi’s injury resulted in a first senior call-up to Chelsea’s Trevor Chalobah, with the defender having previously represented England from U16s through to U21s level.

“Marc was normally meant to be with us, of course. He is the captain of Crystal Palace, and they had a huge win in the FA Cup. He is a big part of the success story. He got injured in the final, and it is a facial injury, and the specialist told us not to take the risk.

“On Trevoh, he deserves it. Easy at that. He has played a fantastic second half of the season with Chelsea. He has been very consistent at a very high level,” he added.

–IANS

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