Tuchel and Bellingham need to talk. Privately.
Thomas Tuchel’s comment about his mother’s appraisal of Jude Bellingham’s behaviour immediately posed three questions. Firstly, was England’s head coach sensible to voice concerns about Bellingham publicly as it inevitably swells the rising tide of criticism towards a brilliant but occasionally petulant talent? No. It was foolish by Tuchel. Secondly, was he right to drag his mother Gabriele into the debate? No. Always keep family away from public scrutiny. The gift of the Gabriele was for the media. Thirdly, is Tuchel right to harbour concerns about Bellingham’s splenetic reactions at times? Yes, he is.
What really should be a mature debate about celebrating Bellingham’s phenomenal talent, how to keep developing it and keeping the edge but losing the petulance, risks being turned into a Tuchel versus Bellingham narrative. That helps nobody. Neither Bellingham, nor Tuchel, nor England. Let’s hope that Bellingham appreciates that Tuchel’s interview was overwhelmingly complimentary and supportive of him.
If Tuchel does travel out to the Club World Cup in the US, checking on England’s potential training retreat as well as the heat, a quiet coffee with Bellingham would be advisable. It will be billed as “showdown talks” and a “summit meeting” etc but all managers and players working in such a competitive environment have these conversations. It’s what grown-ups do.
For Tuchel, it’s about emphasising their shared common purpose, winning the World Cup, and ensuring one of his few world-class players unleashes even more productively for the team. For Bellingham, it’s about listening, learning, growing and improving into an even more formidable competitor. Playing with a fire within without it burning you. It’s important dialogue takes place swiftly, rather than let any tension fester.
We have to remember how young Bellingham still is. Only 21. He’s an elite athlete, a well-paid professional, mature physically but he’s still maturing as a person. We have to try to understand the intense focus on him, and the fact that that he’s played 313 games for clubs and country, a huge workload, and he’s carrying a shoulder condition requiring surgery after the Club World Cup. But Bellingham has to understand that he is getting a reputation, amongst officials, and certainly amongst some England supporters who otherwise love his rescue acts (that bicycle kick against Slovakia at the Euros) and vision (that pass to Myles Lewis-Skelly against Albania).