Thomas Tuchel told ‘complete midfield player’ Morgan Gibbs-White is ‘worth a place’ in England’s World Cup squad as Nottingham Forest star battles Phil Foden & Co for selection

Gibbs-White has surged back into England contention after scoring a decisive hat-trick against Burnley, taking his tally to eight goals in his last 13 appearances. Despite being overlooked by Tuchel for recent friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, the midfielder has outscored every other Premier League player since March with six goals. The 26-year-old now faces a final month to convince the coaching staff before the May 30 squad submission deadline.

Former Wolves technical director Scott Sellars, who oversaw Gibbs-White’s development from a teenager to a Premier League regular, believes the midfielder’s versatility and mentality rival the elite options currently available to Tuchel. Sellars highlighted the player’s unique ability to influence tight games and expressed shock at his recent exclusion from the national setup.

Discussing why the Forest talisman deserves a seat on the plane to the World Cup this summer, Sellars told BBC Sport: "I always felt he would play for England and at youth level he compared to the best. I worked with Phil Foden at City, so I knew his level and I always felt Morgan was around that.

"His mentality and his attitude would mean he would get opportunities to play at the highest level. Anything he's done in his career has been no surprise. His attitude was the first thing I saw at about 15, just his enthusiasm and how he got around the game and wanted to get on the ball. Then when he got the ball, he'd do something."

While Gibbs-White has only earned six caps since his 2024 debut, Sellars argues that his current goalscoring momentum makes him a more "complete" option than several of his peers. He insists that in the high-pressure environment of a World Cup, having a player with Gibbs-White's finishing quality and enthusiastic approach could be the difference in the knockout stages.

Expanding on the midfielder's recent prolific output and his readiness for the international stage, Sellars added: "When he's played for England, his performances have been of a high quality. He's bringing goals and at World Cup level games can be so tight, it can be on people who've got that quality of finish win you the game.

"I'm surprised he wasn't in the 35 [man squad]. If you're looking at form, I'm even more surprised. He probably more of a complete midfield player than a number 10. If other players are not on form, one or two injuries as well which can always happen, then I think he's certainly worth a place in the squad."

With only 54 days remaining until England’s World Cup opener against Croatia in Dallas, Gibbs-White must maintain his goalscoring streak to disrupt Tuchel's established pecking order. Forest's upcoming trip to Sunderland provides another platform for the midfielder to prove he can lead a side under intense pressure while battling for top-flight survival. Having been left out of the March international break, where England struggled against Japan and Uruguay, the playmaker is aiming to prove he is the solution to the Three Lions' creative needs.