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England manager Thomas Tuchel asked Morgan Gibbs-White if he was ‘still upset’ with him in an awkward phone call after the German had initially snubbed the Nottingham Forest star.
Gibbs-White’s omission for World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia was one of the biggest talking points of new boss Tuchel’s first squad.
The 25-year-old, who has been a key player in Forest’s surprise charge towards Champions League qualification, told Tuchel what he thought of the decision in a phone call with the German on Sunday, when he was asked to join up with the squad.
‘Obviously I was upset. Yeah, a little bit disappointed,’ Gibbs-White told BBC Radio 5 Live.
‘But when he told me, I respected his decision. The standard of players is top level.
‘I said to him back like “I feel like I’ve done enough to get the call-up, considering the form level that we were in, but obviously you’re the manager, you make the decisions, and I respect that totally”.
Morgan Gibbs-White was initially snubbed by Thomas Tuchel for his first England squad
Tuchel later called the Forest star and asked him if he was ‘still upset’ with him after being overlooked
‘So, obviously, it was disappointing but then Sunday I got the call, so I was straight here.
‘It was about 4 or 5 o’clock. He sent me a message to say “Are you free to talk?” And I think I replied within like 30 seconds.
‘He phoned me up and said “Are you still upset with me, or do you want to come and join us and fancy training tomorrow?”
‘Obviously, there’s no question there. I said I’d obviously love to come and join and train with the boys, so, yeah, found out Sunday late afternoon and I was just smiling from ear to ear.’
Despite his initial snub, Gibbs-White has praised Tuchel’s approach since taking over from Gareth Southgate in January.
‘To be fair, he’s been incredible,’ he said.
‘I think he’s done it with most of the players. As soon as he got the job, he’s been in contact with quite a majority of the players.
‘He’s a really easy-going sort of guy, nice to speak to and he just says things like he’s coming to watch everyone play games and stuff.
Gibbs-White has since joined up with the squad ahead of games against Albania and Latvia
‘I feel like it was, for him, important to try and get that bond straight away with players because he’s used to club football, so he’s used to spending time every day with players.
‘I felt like it was top from him, really good that he sort of started that relationship before even meeting us, which is really good. So, yeah, just delighted to be here now.’
Gibbs-White has scored five goals and created seven more in Forest’s incredible season and he believes he is playing the best football of his career.
‘I feel like the season that me and the club, Forest, are having at the minute is definitely the best form I think I’ve been in,’ he said.
‘So, coming here with that confidence and that level of football at the minute, I feel like I’m in a really good place.’
