Tuchel confirms Man City's England players are anxious after club's guilty verdict

Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Manchester City’s England players are anxious about their futures after an independent panel found the club guilty of severe breaches of Premier League financial rules, though the England manager says he would still pick them regardless of any punishment handed down — including relegation.

The verdict has cast a shadow over the international window, with City trio Marc Guehi, Elliot Anderson and Nico O’Reilly all part of the England squad. O’Reilly has since returned home with an injury, but the issue has remained a talking point within the camp ahead of Saturday’s UEFA Nations League fixture against Croatia in Rijeka.

“Are they worried or concerned? I think that would be a very human reaction if you don’t know what’s going on for the club that you signed,” Tuchel said. “They’re still young. They’re ambitious. They’re told they are totally innocent and don’t know what’s going on. So yeah, I think it is a subject.”

The England manager said the situation has come up naturally in conversation among the squad. “If it’s a distraction, I don’t know — that’s the honest answer. But it is of course a topic and we speak about it at dinner and at breakfast. I know that the Man City players get a lot, a lot of messages and phone calls and feedback about it.”

Despite the uncertainty, Tuchel was clear that a potential points deduction or even relegation would not automatically cost City’s players their England places. “I think I will always try to pick the best team for the camp, for the occasion, for the tournament, and I will never rule out that they don’t play in the top flight in their country. So you need to look at this case by case.”

City have appealed the verdict, claiming to hold “irrefutable evidence” of their innocence, meaning the club’s final punishment remains undetermined.

Elsewhere in his pre-match briefing, Tuchel addressed the position of Trent Alexander-Arnold, the Real Madrid defender who has never fully nailed down a regular starting role for England. Tuchel conceded the 26-year-old may be approaching a defining moment in his international career. “Maybe, maybe a little bit. You always have the chance, I would say. Once you are in camp it’s possible,” he said.