Danny Mills surprised by Thomas Tuchel selection of England star who could feature against Panama

Former England full-back Danny Mills has shared his surprise at Thomas Tuchel's selection of Trevoh Chalobah, who could feature against Panama with rotation on the cards for the Three Lions.

The Chelsea defender was brought in as a replacement for Tino Livramento, who was ruled out of England's campaign with a calf injury.

Chalobah could play a part in England's contest against Panama, with Tuchel expected to make changes against the weakest opposition in the Three Lions' group.

Mills, speaking to GB News through betTOM, shared that he was "a little bit surprised" at drafting in the former Crystal Palace loanee.

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He told the People's Channel: "When you lose a full-back, and you replace it with a centre-half that hasn't really played at full-back, and I know the argument is some of the other players can play in that position.

"But I don't understand that a squad of 26, why you wouldn't call up a specialist, you know, there were lots of players available.

"Luke Shaw would have been an ample replacement. I think he was very unlucky not to be involved in that, so there are other players that I probably would have brought in.

"Trent [Alexander-Arnold] was clearly not going to get a call-up, no matter how many injuries there were. There's obviously an issue between himself and Tuchel.

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"[Lewis] Hall, obviously from Newcastle, was another option. Harry Maguire was an option as well, if you want to go down the centre-half route. A little bit surprised that he wouldn't get a call."

Chalobah's selection came as a surprise to the Chelsea defender, who had already travelled to watch the Monaco Grand Prix and head to Cannes.

He admitted he had planned a trip to Los Angeles before Tuchel's message came through.

Chalobah said: "I was on holiday in New York already, just planning my holiday and not thinking about the World Cup.

"I was literally in Times Square. I went to the shops to get something. It was when I got back to my hotel that I saw Thomas had texted.

"I didn't see the message for two hours. I wasn't on my phone; I was just walking around the city.

"Got back to the hotel, looked at my phone, and he had asked if I could call him. My heart just dropped."

The call started with the German telling the 26-year-old that he had "some good news", leaving the defender "over the moon".

Chalobah reposted an old message he sent on the day of the 2018 World Cup final, with an image of the trophy and a caption reading: "One day, believe."

Discussing the post, the defender said: "I remember I was on loan at Ipswich that year, and that was when the World Cup was in Russia.

"And it has always been a dream, and that day I decided to tweet it. I obviously believed one day, hopefully, I'd make it."

Chalobah could feature in England's final group stage game against Panama, which kicks off at 10pm on Saturday.

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