Nottingham Forest and West Ham are having wildly contrasting Premier League seasons but it seems that cuts little ice with Thomas Tuchel.
If Nottingham Forest win at Ipswich this weekend they will tighten their grip on third spot in the Premier League.
Meanwhile 16th place West Ham will be taking on former manager David Moyes and his Everton side at Goodison Park with their best hope being jumping up three places to 13th.
Hammers fans have enjoyed a successful few seasons.
But many at West Ham are looking at Nottingham Forest ruefully, feeling it should be them up near the top end taking advantage of the struggles of the so-called “Big Six”.
If one club from West Ham and Forest looked like potential dark horses to challenge for the European spots this season, few would have picked out the Tricky Trees.
Many had Nuno Espirito Santo’s side down as potential relegation candidates and the Hammers as top six contenders.
How wrong those predictions have been.
West Ham are the ones struggling despite spending £155m on nine new players in the summer.
Nottingham Forest have taken the league by storm. They also have an FA Cup quarter-final to look forward to.
England reporter: Tuchel to snub Forest star for West Ham ace
But it seems that will count for little when Thomas Tuchel names his first England squad on Friday.
Because a Nottingham Forest star will be snubbed by Tuchel in favour of a West Ham ace says a top England reporter.
Callum Hudson-Odoi has five goals and two assists to his name this season.
While that doesn’t sound an earth-shattering amount for a team sat third in the table, Hudson-Odoi’s game has been about so much more than that.
The ex Chelsea attacker has officially been Forest’s fifth-best player this season.
His pace and passing, especially on the counter attack, have been fundamental to Forest flying high.
That has led to calls for his return to the England squad as Tuchel names his first Three Lions selection.
He’s not the only Forest star being mentioned for a potential call-up for 2026 World Cup qualifiers vs Albania and Latvia.
Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliott Anderson are also said to be in the mix.
Tuchel has compiled a 55-man long list for England.
Dorsett explains Tuchel thinking over West Ham and Forest stars
He will whittle that down by some 22 for this first squad announcement on Friday.
Despite admitting Hudson-Odoi is in ‘the form of his life’, Sky Sports’ England reporter Rob Dorsett believes he will miss out to West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen.
The Hammers star scored and got an assist when he joined up with England last time out in big wins over Ireland and Greece in November.
Bowen has eight goals and four assists for West Ham this season.
West Ham’s talisman has a marginally higher average match rating than Hudson-Odoi this term with just over 7.09/10 compared to the Forest man’s 6.97/10.
Dorsett is the man in the know when it comes to the England squad.
He claims Hudson-Odoi and Gibbs-White could both miss out with Bowen, Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford ahead of the former and a trio of superstars in front of the latter.
Hudson-Odoi to miss out on England spot to Bowen
“Exactly like his Forest team-mate Morgan Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi is performing in one of the strongest and most over-subscribed positions in the England ranks,” Dorsett said on Sky Sports.
“Many will feel the duo both deserve their chance in the national team, but the age-old question remains: would you drop Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer or Phil Foden to accommodate Gibbs-White at No 10.
“And would Hudson-Odoi get in on the wing ahead of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Gordon or Jarrod Bowen? Sadly, there may just not be space for them.”
Tuchel has reportedly spoken to West Ham captain Bowen twice on the phone since being appointed.
The England squad is likely to be officially named at around 2pm – with a press conference where Tuchel will explain his picks to follow immediately afterwards.
