Overview
- England drafted Chalobah into the World Cup squad on Monday as an injury replacement after Newcastle right-back Tino Livramento was ruled out.
- Chalobah was on holiday in New York when he missed an initial text, then took a FaceTime call from Tuchel before cutting short a planned trip to Los Angeles and travelling back to join the squad.
- The Chelsea defender says he is still trying to reclaim costs for the cancelled part of his holiday after abandoning the trip to join England.
- Tuchel personally told Chalobah to 'stay ready' and indicated he would be used as a right centre-back; the pair have a long club connection dating to Chalobah’s Chelsea debut in 2021.
- Chalobah was on England’s 55-man preliminary list and made 47 appearances for Chelsea this season but arrives at the tournament with only one senior cap, a fact that has prompted some debate over his selection compared with alternatives such as Lewis Hall.