Chalobah reveals Tuchel's Times Square text that cut his New York holiday short for World Cup

Trevoh Chalobah was browsing shops in Times Square when Thomas Tuchel sent the text that would change his summer. The Chelsea centre-back, 26, had been on holiday in New York — deliberately, after Tuchel told him to “stay ready” following his omission from England’s initial 26-man World Cup squad — and missed the message for two hours before returning to his hotel and seeing it waiting on his phone.

“My heart just stopped,” Chalobah said. “He texted me and said ‘Hi, Trevoh, are you free for a call?’ I just knew straight away. I called on video and he was smiling and said: ‘I have got some news for you.’ I was just over the moon.”

Chalobah’s call-up came after Tino Livramento suffered an injury on the eve of the tournament, opening a place in the squad. He had been planning to travel on to Los Angeles after New York but instead flew directly to Kansas City, where England were based ahead of their opening fixture against Croatia in Dallas.

The scramble to join up with the squad came with an unexpected complication. “Funnily enough, I gave away my boots at the end of the season in a giveaway,” Chalobah said with a smile. His sponsors Reebok had to fast-track a fresh supply of boots and kit before his first training session on Saturday.

Chalobah described the World Cup call-up as his “number one” career highlight, a moment that carries particular weight given the journey to reach it. He had previously been consigned to Chelsea’s so-called “bomb squad” — players effectively frozen out of first-team plans — and has spoken about how his faith helped him through that difficult period.

The connection with Tuchel runs deeper than the England set-up. Chalobah revealed the manager had attempted to sign him during his time in charge at Bayern Munich, adding an extra layer to what he described as a “banter” relationship with the coach.

He also pointed to a tweet he posted in 2018 alongside a picture of the World Cup trophy that simply read “One Day” — a reminder of how long this moment has been in the making. Having waited to get match sharpness, Chalobah spent a day off playing padel with teammates Ivan Toney and Ezri Konsa as he settled into the squad environment.