Tuchel open to picking players outside Premier League for England

England manager Thomas Tuchel has stated that he would consider selecting players who are currently playing outside of the top flight for their clubs, in light of ongoing uncertainty surrounding potential sanctions against Manchester City. An independent commission recently found the Premier League's top club guilty of breaching financial regulations from 2009-2018, with the club appealing the verdict.

Possible sanctions include points deductions, fines or even expulsion from the Premier League, though no decision has been made yet. Tuchel, speaking ahead of England's upcoming Nations League match against Croatia, emphasized that a player's league status wouldn't automatically disqualify them from the national team selection. He reiterated that the team must be chosen based on merit for each specific situation.

While all 24 players on the current squad play in top divisions, there have been prior cases where this wasn't the case, such as James Trafford and Sam Johnstone. Tuchel acknowledged that the City players in the squad had discussed the financial case, but the issue did not distract them from their international commitment.