There have been suggestions that Tuchel has not always been convinced by the Birmingham native and some of his on-field anticsbut has there been an element of pantomime and soap opera to that debate – with England’s German tactician happy to play along before ultimately making a big decision that may have been set in stone for some time?
When that question was put to Mills, the former Three Lions defender – speaking on behalf of betTOM – told GOAL: “I think clearly there was some kind of personality clash between the two. That’s happened on a couple of occasions.
“I think obviously Thomas Tuchel was trying to say that I’m the boss, I’m in charge, and rightly so. It’s his prerogative to pick who he needs to pick and when. And I think it was maybe just a shot across the bows to everybody, I am the boss, I will pick who I want to pick, I will decide, and no matter who you are, what you are, how good you think you are, if I don’t pick you as a player then you’re going to have to get on with it and you’re going to have to learn very, very quickly to get on with that.
“Obviously he is an outstanding player and he’s also very, very young. I think we forget that at times. I think maybe some of the antics and outbursts that Thomas Tuchel didn’t like previously, maybe they have had a conversation and it’s a learning curve for everybody within that. And Jude will mature as he gets older and becomes more experienced. I think we do forget at times how young he is.”
