Thomas Tuchel has defended the call-up of “serial winner” Jordan Henderson in his first England squad.

The return of the 34-year-old Ajax midfielder for the first time since November 2023 was one of the most surprising selections by the German for the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia later this month.

Marcus Rashford also returns after impressing Tuchel on loan at Aston Villa, after the player became sidelined at Manchester United, while there were first call-ups for Newcastle defender Dan Burn at 32, and Arsenal’s 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Henderson’s return immediately sparked debate online among fans, but there was clearly no doubt in Tuchel’s mind over his right to be in the squad.

“Why (call up) Jordan? I think this is a pretty easy one,” he said.

“Jordan is, first of all, a serial winner. What he brings to every team is leadership, his character, personality, energy. He makes sure that everyone lives by the standards.

“With this characteristic, he embodies everything we are trying to build.

“If you see the reaction from Jordan, this natural reaction when he was called up, this natural reaction from Dan Burn, you instantly know that you picked the right guys.”

Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah and Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford are the other uncapped players involved, but have previously been selected by the senior team.

Tuchel admitted he considered opting against allowing Lewis-Skelly to be with the under-21 squad instead.

“I can assure you that the talks the last few days had a kind of parental vibe, a bit of a protective vibe, to even feel like maybe we should not nominate him, protect him a little bit.

There was no place for Conor Gallagher, Jack Grealish or James Maddison, nor Morgan Gibbs-White, Jarrad Branthwaite and Angel Gomes.

Ollie Watkins and Harry Maguire appeared to miss out through injury, as did Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Ben White was again conspicuous by his absence after the Arsenal defender ruled himself out of international selection under the last regime, but Tuchel insisted he is back in the frame for a call-up.

“It’s just a question about getting more minutes, getting more rhythm, and he has every chance to be back, and he wants to be back,” Tuchel said.

White has not featured for England since leaving the 2022 World Cup squad early.

Tuchel confirmed Harry Kane would continue as England captain.

The former Chelsea boss defended his working arrangements after media criticism over how much time he had spent in Germany since he officially started work on January 1.

“We watched, I think, almost 25 matches live to see every player,” he said.

“From time to time I was in Germany to see my children, but the majority of the time I was (in England).

“I don’t really get the point of the story.”