‘I’d love to play’ – Crystal Palace star hoping to be key player under Thomas Tuchel ahead of first England squad announcement

BY ANDREW MCSTEEN

Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson revealed that England boss Thomas Tuchel reached out to him ahead of Saturday’s 1-0 win over Ipswich Town to let him know he would be watching the shot stopper.

The England manager has been a regular at Crystal Palace games in recent weeks, watching a number of players, including recent England squad regulars Eberechi Eze, Adam Wharton, Dean Henderson and Marc Guehi.

Tuchel was again in SE25 on Saturday when he saw Oliver Glasner’s side defeat Ipswich 1-0 in a game where Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson made a number of important saves.

Henderson is hoping not only to be part of Tuchel’s squad announcement but also to play an active role in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers against Albania and Latvia later this month.

“I’ll be honest, I’d love to play for England this time around, I’d love to get a cap, another cap. I’m chasing that – it’s one of my goals,” said Henderson, who has two senior national team appearances to his name, but four years apart – after making his debut in 2020 against Ireland, and most recently in October 2024 in the UEFA Nations League game against Finland.

“He texted before the game, and it’s nice to know that he’s watching. He wrote he’d be at the game and be in the stands watching, just wished me all the best. He did, alongside Adam, Marc and Ebs as well, so it’s nice to know he’s watching.

“All I can do is control what I can control – that’s my job for the team, and the way the manager wants me to play; showing up in big moments, which I have been doing, I’m really enjoying it. It’s the best football I’ve played in the last couple years, because I’m playing a lot. I’m delighted. I’m on autopilot now, so I’ve just got to keep going from strength-to-strength.”

In addition to the four regular national team players, some Eagles’ fans have even been extoling the virtues of adding Will Hughes and Tyrick Mitchell to the squad, key players in a squad which lies second only to Liverpool in the Premier League points total since the beginning of the year.

But due to the international break and rearranged games, the Eagles now have a break in competitive action until their FA Cup quarter-final against Fulham on 29 March.

Therefore, the squad will now head off for an in-season training camp in Marbella, before a variety of players join their national teams and for Henderson, he could find himself with a few SE25 faces around him for the next three weeks.

“It’s good, it’s nice to have familiar faces around,” he said about the possibility of being joined by a core of Palace players on England duty. “But, to be honest, I’ve been in the [England] system for a while now, so it’s quite familiar faces all around. And with team-mates at that level as well, there are no egos which is nice. We’ve got a great group.

“Obviously, with the international break, you go away with your country and hopefully get rewarded with a cap and then, when we come back, we’ll be fully focused on Crystal Palace.”

One of those familiar faces is Adam Wharton. Last summer, the midfielder was an unused squad player under Gareth Southgate as England made it all the way to the European Championship final, but underlying injury concerns saw the then 20-year-old have groin surgery in November.

Since his return last month, the former Blackburn player has put in some impressive performances after being out since October, with Henderson keen to sing the praises of the player who has reportedly attracted interest in recent weeks from Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

“He’s took it all in his stride, to be fair, he’s been great. He’s come back in and been great for us the last couple games. Hopefully that can continue and he can push us as high up the league as possible,” said Henderson about his teammate returning to competitive action.

“I am impressed, but I also expect it from a player like that as well. He’s got quality, and obviously we know how much of a miss he’s been at certain times this season. I sort of expect it off him, because he’s just a down-to-earth lad who’s a top footballer and you see it every day. He’s just Adam from up north – he just cracks on.

“Being a northerner myself when he first come here (to Palace) I put my arm around him and looked out for him. [Now] I haven’t had to look out for him at all. He’s been great, and he’s a top player. There’s no ceiling for him – credit to him, because it is very difficult coming back from injuries.”

PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD