England’s World Cup schedule: Why it’s a logistical nightmare for Three Lions players wanting a transfer this summer under Thomas Tuchel’s rules | Football News

Thomas Tuchel says he does have some concerns that transfer speculation could become a distraction for some members of his squad during this World Cup, but he also says it is unavoidable.

The England manager says if he put a transfer ban on his players, they would get around it anyway by having conversations on their phone with agents and buying clubs in the privacy of their bedroom.

As a result, Tuchel is determined to take a “common sense” approach to his rules for England players who want to undergo a medical before switching clubs whilst the tournament is under way.

That will please those players whose futures are uncertain – think Elliot Anderson, Marcus Rashford, John Stones, and maybe even Morgan Rogers.

But the reality is – even with Tuchel’s preparedness to be flexible – there is very little time in the squad’s schedule to allow that to happen. Let’s break that down in some more detail.

Tuchel says he wouldn’t be happy with any player who wants to leave the squad temporarily to have medical tests and negotiate a deal between ‘Matchday Minus Two’ (two days before a World Cup game) and the matchday itself.

But in reality, no player could undergo a strenuous transfer medical on ‘Matchday Plus One’ (the day after a game) if they’d played a substantive number of minutes in the gruelling North America heat.

And if, for example, one of the Manchester clubs were paying over £100m for Anderson, potentially breaking the record British transfer fee of £105m that Arsenal paid for Declan Rice, there is no way they would part with that sort of cash without a thorough physical check, medical tests, X-rays and more.

If the transferring player hadn’t played many minutes that may be more practical to do a medical on the day after a game.

But the truth is that Stones, Anderson, Rashford and Rogers are central players for Tuchel, and there is categorically no way the England boss would consider resting them during a game, simply so that they were fresher to take a medical the next day.

Tuchel has also pointed out how draining all of the travel will be for the squad at this World Cup, with flights to Dallas, Boston and New Jersey to come for the group games. He wants his players to make sure they have maximum time for rest and recovery.

If you look at the England’s schedule closely, you can see how tight the timescale is. The dates used below assume England finish top of Group L.

Once England fly to their World Cup base in Kansas City on June 13, there are only three clear days until their opening Group L game against Croatia on June 17 – so realistically, there is no possibility under Tuchel’s policy for a transfer to be completed then.

If we accept that no medical could happen on June 18 as a player recovers from the previous day’s match, there are two days available after that before Tuchel’s cut-off kicks in again, which is on ‘Matchday Minus Two’ ahead of the Ghana game on June 23.

Applying the same rules, there is no time between the Ghana and Panama matches for a player to undergo a medical at all.

Once England get into the World Cup knockout stages, which they hope to do, the gaps between matches are just as tight.

There are only three days between the third Group game and a probable last-32 match on July 1, four clear days before the last-16, and another four-day gap until the quarter-final.

There are only three clear days between that and a semi-final, and the same before a possible World Cup final in New York.

So, overall, the only practical time in the entire World Cup schedule where an England player could undergo a medical, meet with their agent and buying club, undergo scans, agree terms and sign a contract, whilst fitting in with Tuchel’s policy – are in a narrow, two-day window.

Those days are June 19 or 20, or on the final day before the squad leaves the preparation camp in Florida to fly to Kansas City – which is June 12.

So it’s not impossible – and in fact, Tuchel has made it easier for players to make a club move than his predecessor, Gareth Southgate, who had applied a strict ban during any major tournament.

But even so, it certainly presents a logistical nightmare for any buying club to get a deal done until after England’s World Cup is over.