Thomas Tuchel says Cole Palmer's England exile is “not personal”.

The Chelesa playmaker has been left out of the group to face Croatia and Spain in the Nations League this month, having pulled out of the last squad through injury.

But there are first call-ups for midfielders Josh King and Jobe Bellingham, the brother of England talisman Jude, whilst the Leeds United pair of James Trafford and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have been retained.

Phil Foden has already learnt the high bar Tuchel has for his squad, and Palmer appears to be the latest star name in his bad books.

NO HARD FEELINGS: England coach Thomas Tuchel with Cole Palmer (Image: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

placeholder image — NO HARD FEELINGS: England coach Thomas Tuchel with Cole Palmer (Image: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

But the German insists it is not the case.

“I guess everyone is desperate to play for England, and Cole is no exception,” said Tuchel despite his pointed comments during the last camp about how many internationals Palmer had been unavailable for.

“I said last time, he misses too many opportunities to impress. It was a long camp and the boys who were in camp built something extraordinary.

“If you are in camp, this is your chance to impress.

RETAINED: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Image: Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

“So it’s not personal, and of course we will never assume that Cole is not in the mindset to come and desperate to play for his country. But the competition is on, and the players who were in camp did an amazing job and kept their place.

“The door is always open, but nothing has changed.”

Palmer was one of five withdrawals ahead of the last camp, along with Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Tino Livramento and Marcus Rashford. Of them, only Arsenal midfielder Rice is in the current squad.

Palmer has only won five caps since scoring in the 2024 European Championship final.

BOOED: Ben White (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

The younger Bellingham has never played in the Premier League after leaving Sunderland for Borussia Dortmund two summers ago but has established himself as an important player in the Bundesliga.

He and King have benefited from the absence through injury of Alex Scott, and the fact Mainoo only returned to Manchester United's starting XI on Tuesday.

Dean Henderson returns after injury, along with former Leeds loanees Djed Spence and Ben White.

White made himself unavailable following the 2022 World Cup after a reported disagreement with Gareth Southgate's No 2 Steve Holland.

He made himself available once Tuchel took over, and made his return as a 69th-minute substitute against Uruguay in March.

He was booed onto the field that night, and even scoring England's goal in a 1-1 draw did not win over the Wembley crowd.

"We were not happy about this," said Tuchel. "We could understand the disappointment of the fans with what happened before but I think this is expressed now and this should be a closed book.

“I think everyone could see the investment of Ben, the quality of Ben and how he presented himself in the March camp before the World Cup.

“He did excellently, scored for us and then I think he committed a foul and we conceded.

“It was very eventful, not so easy to come back. When I speak to him, I always feel the hunger to come back, the excitement.

“He is the standout player for Arsenal in a position (right-back) where we struggle with injuries somehow and we have a lot of changes.

“Trevoh Chalobah is not in camp so that makes maybe Jarell Quansah half a full-back and half a centre-back in camp and gives Ben the opportunity to impose himself again.

“He deserves to open a new chapter, he deserves positive feedback from the crowd.

“We want everyone to be supported. This is what helps the team.”

England play at home to Croatia on Thursday, and are in Madrid the following Sunday for their final group match of the competition.

SQUAD: Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Leeds United), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace); Ezri Konsa (Arsenal), Marc Guehi (Man City), Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid), Lewis Hall (Newcastle United), Jarrell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Inter Milan), Ben White (Arsenal); Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jobe Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Josh King (Fulham), James Garner (Everton), Elliot Anderson (Man City), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Declan Rice (Arsenal); Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds United), Anthony Gordon (Barcelona), Rio Ngumoha (Liverpool), Morgan Rogers (Chelsea).