England's Head Coach Thomas Tuchel has declared that he has "no issue" with Jude Bellingham after the trio did not make the England team for forthcoming fixtures against Latvia and Wales.
Bellingham has not been recalled even after returning from a shoulder injury, whereas Foden and Grealish also miss out although showing a return to form with their respective clubs.
Tuchel revealed that the 22-year-old desired to be part of the squad, having spoken with him via telephone.
"He is a unique talent, and for exceptional talents there can always be exceptions," Tuchel said about the Real Madrid star, who's only started once since returning to fitness.
"However we opted to stick with the simple decision of inviting the same group.
"Jude always deserves to be here. There is also the situation that he has not quite found his full rhythm yet at his club - he has not finished a full game.
"He wanted to be selected. We conducted a phone call."
Tuchel was keen to highlight his good rapport with Bellingham after he said sorry to him previously for calling his conduct during a match as "disgusting" in a televised interview.
The German stated that he used the words "without meaning to" and would be more cautious going forward.
When asked if he had any issue with the player, Tuchel said: "None. There is also no problem with Phil Foden or Jack Grealish.
"Phil is returning to impacting and deciding games for Manchester City. Jack is very close to returning to the top form of himself.
"There exists no personal problem."
Saka replacing the hurt Noni Madueke is the sole alteration to the previous squad, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jarell Quansah keeping their spots after joining as last-minute call-ups previously due to injury.
England face Wales in a friendly at Wembley Stadium on this Thursday before a qualifying match in the Latvian capital on 14 October.
If the team triumph in Latvia, they will need a maximum of two more points from their final two matches - against Serbia and Albania in next month - to earn a place in next summer's World Cup in North America.
Strong Performance By the Manager
England delivered their finest performance significantly under Tuchel's leadership when they defeated the Serbian team five-nil away in the Serbian capital last time out.
The coach says that showing made it an straightforward choice to keep largely the same squad, though "there are absolutely no guarantees" for any player regarding selection.
"The last camp was just three and a half weeks ago and the cohesion and morale was at its peak. That is why we decided to call up the same group to this session," he commented.
"Phil is in a excellent run of form. Adam Wharton deserves to be with us. Jones and Chalobah are getting playing time with their clubs.
"There are players who deserve to be here. Palmer is injured and is a special player. It will consistently remain like this.
"Is our team a stronger side with Bellingham? Absolutely. But I mentioned before, what do we do if he is injured before the tournament? Do we simply give up?"
The Manager's Press Conference Draws Attention
Thomas Tuchel again delivered a headline-grabbing press briefing.
He, a master of handling his interactions with the media, started with an opening statement to explain his reasoning for his selections.
Bellingham is fit and available and expressed interest to come to the squad, but the coach explained he did not want to change the team significantly after a statement five-goal win over Serbia - where the manager said unity was at an all-time high.
However with Tuchel not selecting the star, and his frequent comments about togetherness, it is difficult to avoid link the aspects - even though he insisted repeatedly how he is "exceptional" and that there is "no issue" between him and one of the national team's star players.
Tuchel has consistently made it clear that he aimed to make the national team seem like a club team and, by retaining the identical selection after a big victory, he has achieved that. But the questions will come again in the next camp if the team win well in these next two matches.
