Jude Bellingham has been spotted training with Real Madrid, staying with his club during the international break after not being selected by England.
The midfielder wasn’t included in the Three Lions’ squad for this month, despite being fit after recovering from a shoulder operation. Since his return, he has featured in four matches for Real Madrid.
Although active with his club, the 22-year-old is currently not considered necessary for his national team. Manager Thomas Tuchel has chosen to continue with the midfielders who succeeded for England against Andorra and Serbia in September.
It’s uncertain when he might be recalled, with one international break left this year in the following month, and then none until the spring.
But Bellingham has done his best not to let the snub get to him, taking to the turf in Madrid in a bid to stay up with the required match sharpness.
Jude Bellingham has returned to Real Madrid training after being snubbed for the latest England squad
The midfielder has played four times for Madrid since returning from injury but was not called up to the latest England camp
He was seen training in the Madrid sun, wearing a bodywarmer and on the ball as he played alongside the likes of Fran Garcia.
The 44-cap England man was also seen in the gym, wearing a white adidas vest as he worked in the gym.
Explaining his reasons for Bellingham’s omission, Tuchel revealed he has spoken to the star on the phone already.
“The last camp was only three and a half weeks ago,” Tuchel stated. “Teamwork, team spirit were at the highest level so far. Therefore, we decided to bring back the same group to reinforce what we started.”
“Are there players who deserve a call-up? Definitely. Can performance win them a place back in the team? Absolutely. We believe this is the best, direct approach. The contest is on to earn a spot in the squad and ultimately on the field.”
‘I understand your focus on Jude. He is a very special player, and for special players, there are special rules. But for this camp we decided to stick with out decision to invite the same team, that also applies to Jude. He always deserves to be in camp.
‘There is also the situation that he hasn’t gathered his full rhythm for Real Madrid. He hasn’t finished one full match until now; he has only started one now. He is getting back to full strength. We had a phone call. There is no issue from that side, he just lacks rhythm.’
Tuchel’s relationship with Bellingham has been in the spotlight since June when the German revealed that his mother, Gabriele, finds the midfielder’s on-field demeanour ‘repulsive’ after the England star kicked a water cooler in rage following the Three Lions’ defeat by Senegal.
Thomas Tuchel said he wanted to keep the same group together because ‘teamwork, team spirit were at the highest level so far’
There has been concern over Bellingham’s England future after Tuchel called some of his attributes into question
In addition too, the 52-year-old said Bellingham can intimidate team-mates because of his manner.
When it was put to that England could be better off without Bellingham, he told talkSPORT: ‘I struggle to see that. I think he brings an edge, which we welcome and which is needed if we want to achieve big things.
‘(But) the edge needs to be channelled toward the opponent, towards our goal and not to intimidate team-mates, or to be over aggressive to team-mates or referees. He has the fire. I don’t want to dim this down. He should play with this kind of fire, that’s his strength.
‘But the fire comes also with some attributes that can intimidate you, maybe even as a team-mate.
‘You see sometimes the explosion towards referees and the anger in his game, so if he can channel this in the right way, and we can help him in this, then for sure he has the something that we need. He has a certain edge that is hard to find.
‘But I see that it can create mixed emotions. I see this with my parents, with my mum, that she sometimes cannot see the nice and well-educated and well-behaved guy that I see.
‘If he smiles, he wins everyone. But sometimes you see the rage and the fire, and it comes out in a way that can be a bit repulsive, for example, for my mother, when she sits in front of the TV. I see that, but in general we are very happy to have him.
‘He is a special boy. He is a nice kid and very open, very intelligent – and very easy (to manage), so far.’
