Gary Lineker has dismissed a theory raised by Alan Shearer that England boss Thomas Tuchel may have attempted to split up Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold for the benefit of the overall squad dynamic.
Alexander-Arnold’s hopes of featuring at this summer’s World Cup were dealt a major blow last week when the full back was left out of Tuchel’s expanded 35-man squad for friendlies against Japan and Uruguay.
Tuchel stated that Tino Livramento, Djed Spence and Jarell Quansah offered a ‘slightly different profile’ when explaining his decision to leave out Alexander-Arnold.
Alexander-Arnold has played just 26 minutes under Tuchel, with his sole appearance under the England boss coming in a 1-0 win over Andorra last June.
The 27-year-old is known for having a strong friendship with Bellingham, which blossomed at Euro 2024, where the pair were described as ‘inseparable’.
Alexander-Arnold and Bellingham have since teamed up at Real Madrid this season, although the full back insisted their friendship did not play a role in his decision to join the Spanish giants from Liverpool.
Gary Lineker has dismissed a theory Thomas Tuchel may have attempted to split up Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold for the overall benefit of the England squad
Alan Shearer raised the theory with Gary Lineker, who suggested it would be ‘bizarre’ if Tuchel decided to leave Alexander-Arnold out for that reason
Speaking on The Rest is Football, Shearer revealed he and Wayne Rooney have theorised Tuchel has perhaps tried to break up a clique by leaving out Alexander-Arnold.
‘Let me chuck this at you, Jude Bellingham and Trent are a pretty powerful couple,’ Shearer raised to host Gary Lineker.
‘Would there be a point in Tuchel’s mind where he thinks that if those two are together I’m not going to play either of them, or may play one of them – one or the other – that then they have an influence on the squad?’
Lineker, who claimed England’s hopes of World Cup glory will be lessened without Alexander-Arnold, suggested it would be a ‘bizarre’ reason for Tuchel to leave out the full back.
‘What I will say is, what he might be thinking is he left Bellingham out of the previous squad, maybe to send a message, maybe he’s leaving Trent out just to send another message. But we’re getting quite close to the competition now,’ Lineker said.
‘I don’t know. I don’t know if they are problematical people to have in your side.
‘What I do know is they are two unbelievably talented and brilliant footballers that have delivered over recent seasons.
‘It’s impossible for us to know what the connection or lack of connection is between Tuchel and those players, what he thinks.
Alexander-Arnold and Bellingham were said to have been ‘inseperable’ during Euro 2024
‘There’s only one man who decides, it’s up to him.’
Tuchel has strongly emphasised a focus on the collective rather than star names during his England reign.
This was highlighted when he left Bellingham out of a squad back in October.
Rooney also addressed his and Shearer’s theory about Bellingham and Alexander-Arnold on his own podcast.
‘There’s an argument he should be starting, so not having him in the squad, it feels a little bit deeper,’ he said on the Wayne Rooney Show.
‘I know he’s good mates with Jude and it looks like there’s been a few issues with Jude, so maybe he feels there’s a clique there and he’s trying to split it up. I don’t know what the reasons are.’
Tuchel’s decision has generated considerable debate, with Alexander-Arnold’s former Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard among those to have suggested a reason for the full back continuing to be overlooked.
‘There’s a lot of other circumstances to take into consideration – how much has he played?’ Gerrard said on Saturday. ‘Is he physically in his best condition? Is there stuff going on off the pitch?
‘Is it where (Tuchel) doesn’t want a group of players who are not going to be playing, or not in the first XI, who might be different people around the place? There’s a lot of things that might be taken into consideration before you select a squad for six weeks.’
Alexander-Arnold has recently enjoyed a run of starts at Real Madrid, but was left out of their squad for their derby against Atletico Madrid after reportedly turning up late for training.
