Thomas Tuchel tells Myles Lewis-Skelly what he needs to do to earn World Cup spot

England manager Thomas Tuchel has made it clear to Myles Lewis-Skelly that he needs to play regularly for Arsenal if he is to make it into the World Cup squad.

The 19-year-old left-back enjoyed a breakthrough 2024-25 campaign, where he featured regularly for the Gunners in the second half of the season, producing some eye-catching displays.

Lewis-Skelly's rapid rise earned him a call-up to the national team, and he made a huge impact in his England debut against Albania in March.

The youngster earned five more caps for his country and started in England's five of the last eight games, but he has been overlooked in favour of Nico O'Reilly after his impressive performances for Manchester City.

Tuchel sends strong message to Lewis-Skelly

Lewis-Skelly was omitted from the England squad to face Serbia and Albania, and Tuchel mentioned that while the young defender is a valuable member of the squad, he needs to play regular games.

The defender has managed just 87 minutes of Premier League football so far this season, with all seven of his appearances coming from the bench.

The youngster has provided two assists in the EFL Cup and also registered another in the Champions League, but Tuchel does not want him to be a good tourist.

"Myles was a very good team-mate and played for us in the last camp in the World Cup qualifier in Riga, so was Ruben Loftus-Cheek, so was Morgan Gibbs-White," said Tuchel, as quoted by Sky Sports.

"But I said last time there is a component to it and that is about competition and performance and the door is always open for guys who perform on a high level regularly.

"Myles, Ruben and Morgan got out-performed by O'Reilly, Alex Scott and Jude Bellingham in their positions. Myles simply needs more starts, more minutes."

Could Lewis-Skelly leave Arsenal in January?

The young defender has lost his first-team place to Riccardo Calafiori, and he is facing competition from Piero Hincapie, who started in the Champions League clash against Slavia Prague.

It has been reported that several Premier League clubs are closely monitoring the situation of Lewis-Skelly, who recently signed a new five-year contract with Arsenal.

The Gunners are unlikely to sell him anytime soon or send him out on loan, considering they are competing for four major trophies, and Mikel Arteta will need to utilise his squad players.

While the north London club are under no financial pressure to sell any of their players, if they decide to offload him, the left-back would represent a 100% profit in terms of Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), as he has progressed through the academy ranks.