Thomas Tuchel was told he should include the Coventry star in the next England squad after his great performance against Newcastle.
Coventry star Bobby Thomas is being tipped to become the first player from his team to play for England since 1998 after his great performance in the Sky Blues’ 4-1 win over Newcastle.
The 25-year-old centre-back, who is a towering 6ft 4in, has been one of Coventry’s best players since they came back to the Premier League this season. He made several important defensive plays during the Newcastle match, including a goal-saving block when the score was 1-0. Even though Coventry scored four goals, Thomas was named Player of the Match by Sky Sports, with fans asking England manager Thomas Tuchel to pick him for the national team.
“I’d be watching Bobby Thomas for the next England games, Mr Tuchel,” one fan posted on social media.
“Serious questions should be asked about why Bobby Thomas isn’t playing for England,” said another.
A third fan predicted, “Bobby Thomas will get an England cap within a year.”
Broadcaster Olivia Buzaglo added, “Bobby Thomas is brilliant. Every time I watch Coventry, he blocks everything. He’s always in the right spot. Class.”
No current Coventry player has played for England since Dion Dublin in 1998, nearly 28 years ago.
Thomas started out in the youth teams at Everton and Crewe Alexandra before joining Burnley at 16, where he signed his first professional contract. He only made one appearance for Burnley, in the League Cup, before moving to Coventry in the summer of 2023 for a fee thought to be around £2 million.
He was named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year last season and has kept up that strong form now that he’s playing in the Premier League.
After the game, Sky Sports analyst Jamie Carragher compared Thomas’s defending to that of a prime John Terry. Thomas was asked about this during a post-match interview with Patrick Davison and teammate Ellis Simms.
“That’s a nice comparison, right?” he said. “I’ve heard worse! But I appreciate it. To spot danger, you just have to practice hard every week. Then when the game comes, you back your training and do important things like blocks and key moments.”
When told that his move into the Premier League seemed “seamless,” Thomas replied, “I wouldn’t say seamless, but I’m enjoying it. It’s coming together now. We had a tough start—lost our first four games—but we believed we could turn it around. The last two games have been really positive, and we’re heading in the right direction. It’s been good.”