Hurzeler and Brighton back Welbeck for England

Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler has revealed that his players unanimously believe Danny Welbeck should be named in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for November’s international fixtures.

Tuchel is set to announce his selection on Friday for England’s final World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania.

With qualification for next summer’s tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico already secured, the England boss may use the opportunity to test new or returning players.

Team-mates Back Welbeck for Return

Welbeck, 34, has been in outstanding form for Brighton, scoring six goals in his last five Premier League appearances, including a spectacular free kick against his former club Manchester United.

The forward, who has earned 46 senior caps, has not represented England since the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Asked about the possibility of a recall, Hurzeler told reporters on Thursday that Welbeck’s form has been a popular topic within the squad.

“For sure, it’s at the moment a topic with Danny Welbeck, so therefore we just talked about this briefly and everyone had the same opinion.

“So I never saw a football team that agrees like 100 percent and therefore it was a nice talk, was a nice discussion. But like I said, it’s not something that we can influence now, we can only influence to help Danny Welbeck to support the best way he can do.

“And I think he’s doing it at the moment and then we have to see what decision Thomas [Tuchel] will do.”

Hurzeler added that he even asked for a kind of show of hands among his squad, and all agreed that Welbeck should be part of Tuchel’s plans.

While the discussion has sparked interest, Hurzeler stressed that both he and the team are focused on their upcoming league match.

“But that’s the only focus we can set is really to focus on the game on Sunday, try to be there the best prepared team together with Danny Welbeck,” he said.

Asked if Welbeck had received any contact from Tuchel, Hurzeler replied: “Like I said, I think we will see it on Friday. So these are things we shouldn’t discuss in public. This decision will be made on Friday, what I heard. So let’s wait until then.

“And again, we shouldn’t focus too much on things we can’t control. We should focus on a good training session today. We should focus on preparing well for the game on Sunday because I just can repeat it: We have a big responsibility for the whole club for the fans on Sunday, and therefore we really need to focus on that.

“We can’t take time with noise, [or things] we can’t influence. We will see what will happen tomorrow.”