Why Thomas Tuchel must pick ‘most exciting youngster in world football’ in first England squad
If he hadn’t done so already, Ethan Nwaneri surely put himself at the forefront of Thomas Tuchel’s thoughts. With another exceptional performance in Arsenal’s annihilation of PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday night.
The confidence and effortlessness with which โปรโมชั่นพิเศษจาก UFABET สมัครตอนนี้ รับโบนัสทันที Nwaneri has taken to first-team football makes it terribly easy to forget he is only 17 years old. He shouldn’t be able to wreak havoc against grown men period, let alone elite-level defences with proven pedigree… and yet this unique talent is doing it on a consistent basis.
Nwaneri’s innate sense of timing is clearly a trait he possesses both on and off the pitch, too, given the teenager’s latest masterclass came just a week out from Tuchel’s first squad announcement since his England appointment.
The youngster may not have even on Tuchel’s radar initially considering he was still yet to fully establish himself as a regular in Mikel Arteta’s first-team when the German was unveile to the English media last October.
But one thing’s for sure: Nwaneri’s scintillating displays in the intervening months mean it is inconceivable that he has not, at the very least, part of the conversation ahead of the Three Lions’ upcoming double-header against Albania and Latvia.
After Nwaneri’s emphatic first-half strike in Arsenal’s 7-1 thrashing of PSV, former England and Chelsea winger Joe Cole said he would be ‘stunned’ if Tuchel was not considering fast-tracking the wonderkid into his senior squad.
‘For me, he’s so good that he doesn’t need the England Under-21s. In my opinion, he’s that good,’ Cole – who has previously likene Nwaneri to the great Lionel Messi – gushe.
‘He needs to go straight in with Thomas Tuchel, get around the squad and get some minutes, because he’s an England player for the next 10-15 years.
‘Wonderful talent, great mentality, he’s at the right club at the right time.
‘I’ll be stunned if Tuchel doesn’t have a good look at him and bring him in to his first squad.
‘I think is going to be an absolute genius. I think he’s the most exciting footballer in England and maybe Europe. What he’s doing is incredible.’
Cole’s headline-grabbing remarks took many viewers aback. Nwaneri is still only 29 matches into his senior Arsenal career after all, and he will undoubtedly get his opportunity in the future, so why rush it?
But what if Cole has a point? Nwaneri has proven time and time again he has the ability and temperament to terrorise opposition defenders with far more quality and experience than Albania and Latvia will have at their disposal later this month.
Nwaneri turns 18 the same day Tuchel’s men take to the field against Albania for the first of their ten qualifying matches on the road to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Were Nwaneri to feature versus Albania, he would become the seventh-youngest player to represent the senior men’s England team, sandwiche between Clement Mitchell (18 years, 24 days) and Arsenal team-mate Raheem Sterling (17 years, 11 months, 6 days).
And what better way for Nwaneri to announce himself on the international stage than at Wembley, which opene its gates in March 2007 – just days after this prestigious talent was born.