Walking around Times Square, Trevoh Chalobah’s phone flashed with good news. The sort of news he had waited a lifetime for. But, accidentally, he failed to pick it up for two hours.
A text message from Thomas Tuchel. ‘Are you free for a call?’ Chalobah, not looking at his mobile while exploring New York on holiday, immediately FaceTimed England’s manager when he realised.
Tino Livramento was going home with a calf injury and Chalobah’s former Chelsea manager, somebody who tried to sign him for Bayern Munich and gave him an international debut, beamed while asking if he was ready to contribute. The emphatic answer was ‘yes’, having done individual work with a personal trainer in the States, using a sponsor’s facilities.
He was planning to progress to ball work when the summer vacation moved to Los Angeles, but the west coast part of the jaunt happily never materialised. Chalobah hurriedly asked Reebok to ship some new boots as soon as Tuchel told him to jet across to the Midwest.
‘I am still trying to get my money back,’ he laughed when asked if the LA hotel was refundable. ‘I didn’t expect the call. My heart dropped. I just called my family, called my agent. It was early morning so I texted my agent and said ‘wake up, wake up’ – he thought I was in trouble or something!
‘I think that is the beautiful thing about it, when you didn’t expect it and to get a call like that shows that obviously when you think all is lost or it’s not going to happen, that tweet I sent came true.’
Tuchel has told the 26-year-old that he is battling for the right-hand side of central defence, with Ezri Konsa and John Stones those ahead of him
The tweet in question is from July 2018 when embarking on a loan at Ipswich Town, a picture of the Jules Rimet with the caption: ‘One day, believe.’ It has ended up prophetic.
Tuchel has told the 26-year-old that he is battling for the right-hand side of central defence. Ezri Konsa and John Stones are those ahead of him, with Marc Guehi adept on the left.
He’s already beaten Konsa at padel with Ivan Toney at the only court in the region. Yet it is actually being here, as a squad member, that is testament to a man whose career has been littered by setbacks and those who make snap judgements.
Chalobah, after all, was unfancied at Chelsea for a number of consecutive summers – most notably under Enzo Maresca, sent to Crystal Palace on loan.
‘I love my career,’ he said. ‘I love what I’ve been through. It’s all part of not just football, but going through life as a person. It’s never going to be smooth but I’ve loved every minute. I know the player I am. I know how far I’ve come. I know what I’ve been through, so I can’t allow those moments to define who I am. I have that faith.’
A devout Christian, Chalobah’s best days have come under Tuchel. He was considered unfortunate not to have made the initial 26-man travelling party. The odds on making this World Cup had lengthened when suffering an ankle sprain in the Champions League, subsequently missing March’s crucial international friendlies.
His first session was at the base in Kansas City on Saturday and, fully acclimatised, he insisted that he can impact this tournament.
‘Thomas is really fun,’ Chalobah added. ‘At Chelsea he was really demanding, which helped me. We have that really fun, banter relationship and I love it. We’ve always had that special relationship. He’s the one that gave me my debut in 2021 in my breakthrough season at Chelsea. So we’ve always had that. We have that strong connection.’
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