Thomas Tuchel has sent a warning to Arsenal left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly despite naming the youngster in his latest England squad.
The 19-year-old has been called up to Tuchel’s 24-player squad for the upcoming friendly against Wales and World Cup qualifier in Latvia this month.
The academy graduate was thrown into the deep end last season amid an injury crisis to Arteta’s side and rose to the opportunity.
He racked up 15 league starts in the second half of last season, and had standout performances in the Champions League quarter-finals against Real Madrid.
Lewis-Skelly even earned a call-up to the England senior team under Tuchel, scoring 20 minutes into his debut against Albania at Wembley.
But at Arsenal Lewis-Skelly has been facing fierce competition from Italy international Riccardo Califiori, with Mikel Arteta preferring the 23-year-old’s experience so far this term.
That slide from grace has been dramatic, and the teenager is yet to start a game in the Premier League this season.
Now Tuchel has warned Lewis-Skelly that his place in England’s World Cup squad could be at risk if he does not get more minutes in north London.
While Tuchel praised Lewis-Skelly’s ‘outstanding’ impact in the England squad so far to give him plenty of ‘credit’, he added that this may not be enough in the coming months.
‘Maybe it becomes a problem for him, yeah,’ Tuchel said when asked about Lewis-Skelly’s lack of starts for Arsenal this season. ‘To just be a good citizen in camp will not be enough over the course of a year.
‘He was a very good player in camp, a very good team-mate in camp (last month). But being a good team-mate in camp may not be good enough to stay the whole year with us.
‘You have to perform at club level on a regular basis. In the last camp he got the credit, that I was convinced we have to take care of him and nominate him because we accelerated his career. It was our responsibility after we called him last season. So we stick to this.
The England boss, who also left out Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden from his latest squad, continued: ‘He was now part of a very successful camp so he gets the reward for that. But if you remember he was not part of the 20-man squad in the match in Serbia.
‘Still, his behaviour was outstanding, even if he was not part of the squad. His training, his attitude, his attitude to push and support the guys on the pitch was outstanding and of the highest level.
‘He is one of the players who benefits from this decision, from sticking with the same squad, but the performances [for Arsenal] will be a key factor in the next month. He benefits also from the proximity of the camps and that [the last one] was three weeks ago.’
With the World Cup looming next summer and while clearly still in Tuchel’s thoughts, Lewis-Skelly will be desperate to wrestle his way back into Arteta’s side sooner rather than later.
