Arsenal defender Ben White has been handed a shock England call-up by Thomas Tuchel after Bayer Leverkusen’s Jarell Quansah had to pull out the squad.

The 28-year-old has not featured in the national team squad since the 2022 World Cup despite playing a key role for Arsenalover the past few seasons.

White returned early from Qatar for what the Football Association called “personal reasons” and reports later emerged of an alleged bust-up with former England assistant Steve Holland.

The Arsenal star’s versatility would’ve come in handy for England at Euro 2024 as the Three Lions reached the final, where they eventually lost to Spain, before Gareth Southgate and assistant Holland resigned from their positions.

Speaking to reporters after being hired as the new Englandhead coach, Tuchel said of White: “He’d love to be back in the squad. I just think it’s a bit too early now given the seriousness of the injury that he had.”

He added: “We are honoured speaking to him, speaking to Ben, delighted that he’s back on the bench. Now it’s just a question of getting more minutes, more rhythm. He wants to be back.”

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England announced on Monday morning that White and Newcastle winger Harvey Barnes have been called-up for matches against Uruguay and Japan later this month to replace Quansah and Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze.

A statement read: “Newcastle United’s Harvey Barnes and Arsenal’s Ben White have been added to the England squad.

“The pair replace Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze and Bayer Leverkusen’s Jarell Quansah who are ruled out of the Three Lions’ March internationals through injury.

“Barnes made his only appearance for the senior team in October 2020 while White has four caps to his name.

“England host Uruguay on Friday (27 March, 7.45pm kick-off) followed by Japan on Tuesday 31 March (7.45pm kick-off) at Wembley Stadium.”

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White reportedly refused to play for England while Southgate was still in charge and former Liverpool forward Stan Collymore said that the Arsenal defender “should never be called up again”.

Collymore told Caught Offsideat the time: “The biggest talking point from Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad is that Ben White refused to be called up.

“The defender, according to The Athletic, doesn’t want to represent his country for several reasons, including finding it difficult being further down in Southgate’s pecking order.

“Firstly, and assuming The Athletic’s report is accurate, what a disgrace. If every player took that same stance, international football would be chaos and probably couldn’t happen. Being called up to represent your county is an honour, you should want to do it regardless of whether you’re the first name on the manager’s teamsheet or the last.”

Collymore continued: “Even though I am incredibly disappointed a player has made this decision, I don’t think it’s a great loss to England. White is having a decent season for Arsenal, but I don’t think he’s good enough anyway.

“Credit where it’s due — he is certainly versatile — he can play at right back, centre-back and even drift into midfield, but there is no way he’s going to get in ahead of Kyle Walker or John Stones, both of whom can also play those roles.

“So for me, thanks but no thanks, Mr White. We know you want to be a nailed-on starter, but you can’t always get exactly what you want, especially at international level and especially in tournament football. It’s a squad game, and if you’re lucky enough to get a chance, it’s on you to take it, but he’s refused the opportunity, so in my opinion, he should never be called up again — regardless of who is in charge.”

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