Jordan Henderson will NOT be dropped from the England squad, manager Thomas Tuchel has told talkSPORT.
The Three Lions boss responded to pleas from fans and pundits for England to move on from the 34-year-old.
Henderson‘s inclusion at international level has been questioned since his Liverpool exit in 2023, failing to settle in Saudi Arabia at Al Ettifaq before returning to Europe to join Ajax.
Yet he remains in the thinking of Tuchel ahead of the 2026 World Cup, having been brought back into the squad following his Euro 2024 omission.
He started against Andorra last weekend in England‘s 1-0 victory to bring up his 84th appearance since making his debut in 2010.
With his 35th birthday a week away, talkSPORT co-hosts Jason Cundy and Jamie O’Hara have urged Tuchel to drop the Sunderland academy graduate if he wishes to end England’s 60-year trophy drought at the World Cup.
But speaking to talkSPORT, the former Chelsea boss declared he will continue to count on Henderson, insisting he remains in peak condition, while his experience is invaluable to the squad’s younger stars.
Pressed by Adrian Durham as to whether he is aware of the negativity from fans surrounding Henderson, Tuchel stated: “I am not aware of it to be honest.
“We were convinced about this move to bring him back and since I met him in person and since I saw him and observed him in camp, I am more convinced than ever that he is a very important addition to this group.
“Especially when we talk about connections, especially when we talk about setting standards and keeping the group up to the standards.
“He is at the moment the man that I don’t want to miss the value of having people within your camp that do set those standards.”
Describing what Henderson brings to the squad, Tuchel added: “He is still lean, he is still fit.
Henderson has been in both of Tuchel’s England squad after being left out under Gareth SouthgateGetty Tuchel has told talkSPORT that Henderson brings out the best in his England teammatesYouTube/talkSPORT“He is still ready to push on a level that matches international level. I am convinced he is still ambitious.
“He pushes the group, he takes care of training, he takes care of the attitude, he brings actually players together.
“So we see different better versions of players when Jordan is in camp than if he is not in camp, and that is all I can say.”
Henderson’s inclusion in the squad wasn’t the only one that raised eyebrows amongst fans, with many surprised that veteran right-back Kyle Walker was also selected following his loss of form in the last year.
Walker started in the shock 3-1 friendly defeat to Senegal on Tuesday night – the first time an African country had ever prevailed against England.
Tuchel was then played out a question from a talkSPORT caller about why he continues to play Henderson and Walker instead of younger players.
Only Harry Kane has played more games for England than Walker and Henderson from the players in the latest squadAgreeing with his point, Tuchel hinted that Walker could be out of his next squad for September after failing to impress against Senegal
He said: “Yeah fair enough, especially after yesterday, fair enough, good question.
“I am aware that Kyle gets a lot of criticism for his performance yesterday and I am sure that we are all aware that he had not his best day.”
Stressing that he had no other option but to start Walker, Tuchel added: “Trent [Alexander-Arnold] is also out of rhythm lately in the week, so it is also a little bit about alternatives who could have been with us.
“We decided to give for example, Tino Livramento, the chance to play his last tournament for the U21s which is high valuable tournament for us to see him there in a leadership role – taking responsibility, knowing that it is on his shoulders.
“So yeah, we did not make ourselves easy with the nomination. I can see. I can understand the question.”
Tuchel was then keen to stress that Henderson remains in his long-term thinking, though the same may not be said for Walker.
He stated: “I think we did a lot of changes, I can understand, but sending Jordan home at the moment is not an option.
“Because I want to have him in camp because he brings the best out of other players, he has a huge impact into the group.
“And Kyle deserved for me to be in camp because of what he did in the last camp.”
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