Thomas Tuchel goes the extra mile with phone call to Manchester United star

Mason Mount has disclosed that England manager Thomas Tuchel reached out personally to reassure the Manchester United midfielder about his prospects of earning a Three Lions recall. Mount's most recent England outing occurred during the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, when Gareth Southgate's squad was eliminated by France in the quarter-finals following a 2-1 defeat.

Fitness problems have plagued Mount's opening two campaigns at United after his £60million switch from Chelsea, with the 26-year-old securing merely 11 starting appearances during the previous season.

Although he has been absent from international duty for two-and-a-half years, Mount revealed his former Chelsea manager Tuchel has kept the possibility alive for a comeback to the England setup - in preparation for next year's World Cup in the US.

"He called me" Mount explained. "He called me and he said that he's calling a lot of players and just wanted to catch up. 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. He looked like he had loads of energy, like I remember, and was bang up for the new role.

"He was very excited and it was obviously good to catch up with him and speak to him and see what he was preparing. I played quite a bit under him. We won the Champions League, so that's a positive. But I think with England it's totally different now.

"I think the competition with 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. He looked very excited.

"As a player, you always want to play for your country and that's such a big honour, to play for your country. Any opportunity that you get to put that shirt on is amazing.

"I've had 36 caps for England, so I know what it means to be able to play for your country. I'd love to have that opportunity again, but I'm focusing on club football first.

"We need to put right what happened last season. So I'm looking at that first for sure and then we'll see what happens at the end of the season."

Discussing his individual targets for the forthcoming campaign, Mount declared: "I think it's about kicking on from where I was last season. Putting that behind me, the injuries and stuff, and looking forward to what I can do. Focusing on what I bring to the team and knowing what I can do."