"He came back and is playing with Inter, he is coming off a good match in the Champions League." Thomas Tuchel said that to TuttoMercatoWeb while explaining why Djed Spence is back in England's 25-man squad for the November Nations League fixtures against Croatia on Thursday, November 12 and Spain on Sunday, November 15. The call-up is built on recent club form rather than reputation alone, with Inter starting to get more out of him in the past few weeks.

Inter minutes and the recall

Tuchel's point is easy to follow in the numbers. Spence has only six appearances across all competitions for Inter, with 272 minutes in total, and he made only one Serie A start after 10 rounds. That is not the profile of a player who has been locked into the team every week.

What has pushed him back into the England set-up is the recent run. Spence was started twice in a row, against Milan and Feyenoord, and in the Champions League against Feyenoord he was named MVP of the match. Tuchel also said he "looks in shape and is back with his speed and acceleration," which fits the way his latest outings have been described.

The Champions League case

There is a small debate around which performance stands out most. Football Italia highlighted his first appearance after the September-October international break, the 3-0 Serie A win over Parma on October 10, while TuttoMercatoWeb put the emphasis on the Feyenoord game. Tuchel backed the European outing, and that lines up with the 7.7 rating attached to that match.

He also pointed to Spence's "fantastic World Cup" as part of the case for the recall. The broad message is clear enough. England have called him back because Inter are finally getting enough out of his pace and recovery work to trust him again, not because he has suddenly become a finished article.

The immediate test is simple, Croatia on Thursday, November 12, then Spain on Sunday, November 15, with Spence back in a squad where Tuchel wants recent club form to count.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →