Morgan Gibbs-White has handed England manager Thomas Tuchel a selection headache after his hat-trick against Burnley on Sunday underlined the Nottingham Forest midfielder's credentials as a late contender for the World Cup squad.

The 26-year-old has scored six Premier League goals since the start of March — more than any other player in the division over that period — and has now registered eight goals across his past 13 games. With England's final World Cup squad deadline set for Saturday, 30 May, and the tournament opener against Croatia in Dallas on 17 June, time is short but not yet gone.

The case for inclusion

Gibbs-White's hat-trick against Burnley was his first multi-goal performance in more than four years, with 15 goals in all competitions making this the finest scoring season of his career. He is the second-highest English scorer in the Premier League this term, on 12 goals, behind Brighton's Danny Welbeck, who has 13.

Despite those numbers, Tuchel omitted him from his 35-man squad for last month's friendlies against Japan and Uruguay. His most recent England appearance came in October's 3-0 win over Wales, and across his six caps he has accumulated only 89 minutes of senior international football.

The competition for England's number 10 role is fierce. Cole Palmer, Eberechi Eze, Morgan Rogers, Phil Foden, and Jude Bellingham were all called up for those friendlies and remain ahead of Gibbs-White in Tuchel's thinking. Yet the numbers reveal a more complicated picture: Palmer has managed fewer than 1,800 minutes in the league this season, while Gibbs-White's 2,819 minutes place him among the most-used number 10 candidates, alongside Aston Villa's Rogers on 2,925.

Rogers has scored just twice in his past 16 games, while five of Palmer's nine league goals have come from the penalty spot. Phil Foden and Bellingham create more chances per 90 minutes than Gibbs-White's 1.4, but the Forest man's involvement in physical duels and defensive contribution remain areas where he trails his rivals statistically.

A mentor's endorsement

Scott Sellars, who helped develop Gibbs-White as a teenager during spells as Under-21, Under-23, and academy manager at Wolves, and served as technical director when Forest paid a fee rising to £42.5 million for him in 2022, believes the player has earned his chance.