Man Utd star Mason Mount reveals conversation with Thomas Tuchel that has fired him up for next season
Injury-plagued Mount's last England appearance was in the Qatar 2022 quarter-final defeat by France, with a series of problems dogging him since.
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It meant Mount - who started the Euro 2020 final against Italy - was not even in the equation when Gareth Southgate selected his squad for Germany in 2024.
But new England boss Tuchel was a huge fan of Mount during their days at Chelsea, which included him playing the crucial pass as the Blues shocked Manchester City to win the Champions League in 2021.
And while Mount, 26, accepts he has to secure a place in Manchester United's side to put himself back into World Cup contention, the online conversation with his former club boss has made him start believing.
Mount said: 'Thomas called me up.
'He called me and he said that he's calling a lot of players and just wanted to catch up.
'I don't know how many players he probably called, 40 or 50 maybe.
'But it was good to see his face, good to catch up with him, good to speak to him.
'He looked in loads of energy, like I remember, and was bang up for the new role.
'I could see he was very excited and it was obviously good to catch up with him and speak to him and see what he was preparing.'
Mount agreed that Tuchel's appointment as Southgate's successor had been a genuine boost for him after two years of toil and frustration.
The Cobham product's hopes of making a mark at United after his £55m move went south with injuries restricting him to just 13 Prem starts in his first two seasons in red.
But United boss Ruben Amorim has paid a number of glowing tributes, describing him as 'a player who does everything right - so he will always have the support of everyone at the club' and suggesting: 'Even five minutes of Mason Mount is perfect.'
Now he has managers who will publicly rate him for both club and country - with Mount's personal relationship with the German a strong one.
Mount added: 'I played quite a bit under him. We won the Champions League, so that's a positive.
'But with England it's totally different now.
'The competition with places, the amount of people he can pick, it's a bit different than club football.
'So it doesn't go hand in hand. He said to me, 'there's no guarantees, even though you played for me'.
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'But it gives you more, you want to push even more to be able to be back in the squad. So it was really good to speak to him.'
And the prospect of wearing the white shirt again, in the USA next summer, has already got Mount thinking.
He said: 'As a player, you always want to play for your country. It's such a big honour.
'Any opportunity that you get to put that shirt on is amazing.
'I've had 36 appearances for England, so I know what it means to be able to play for your country.
'I'd love to have that opportunity again.
happened last season.
'So, looking at that first for sure and see what happens at the end of the season.'
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