Mason Mount is desperate to return to the England setup under his former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel but knows their existing relationship will not guarantee him a call-up.
Mount has won 36 senior caps for England, scoring five goals, and was a key player for much of Gareth Southgate's reign.
However, he has not represented his country since the 2022 World Cup, with a series of injuries limiting him to just 19 starts in two seasons with Manchester United.
Mount has appeared as a substitute in each of United's two pre-season friendlies to date, a goalless draw with Leeds United and a 2-1 win over West Ham, and he is keen to get regular minutes this season ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Mount won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup under Tuchel when the German was in charge of Chelsea between 2021 and 2022, but he knows there is now stern competition for a place in the Three Lions' squad.
"He called me, he said he's calling a lot of players and just wanted to catch up," Mount told BBC Sport of his most recent conversation with Tuchel.
"I don't know how many players he called, 40 or 50 maybe. But it was good to see his face, good to catch up with him and good to speak to him.
"He looked like he had loads of energy, I remember, and he was bang up for the new role. He was very excited, and it was good to see what he was preparing.
"It's such a big honour to play for your country. Any opportunity you get to put that shirt on is amazing and I'd love to have that opportunity again.
"But I think with England it's totally different now because of the amount of people he can pick.
"He said to me, 'there are no guarantees, even though you played for me'. But you want to push even more to get back into the squad."
Mount scored more goals (19) and registered more assists (19) under Tuchel at Chelsea than under any other manager in his career.
The German used Mount 87 times in all competitions, with only Frank Lampard doing so more often, on 89 occasions with Derby County and Chelsea combined.
Mount's United side face Bournemouth in their third pre-season friendly on Wednesday, while England are back in World Cup qualifying action against Andorra in September.
