Joe Cole has warned Gareth Southgate over his West Ham blind spot and says the England boss would be ‘silly’ to ignore James Ward-Prowse.
Everyone connected with West Ham was livid – if not overly surprised – when Gareth Southgate snubbed Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse for his September England squad.
There was widespread disbelief – and not just among Hammers supporters – when Southgate selected the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Jordan Henderson, Eddie Nketiah and Callum Wilson over the duo.
Both Bowen and £30m signing Ward-Prowse have started the season on fire for West Ham.
Ward-Prowse in particular has caught the eye, scoring twice and laying on five assists in his first five Hammers appearances.
That’s a goal contribution every 70 minutes for West Ham thus far.
The Premier League’s media team even seemed to have a dig at Southgate for failing to select Ward-Prowse in his last squad.
West Ham academy graduate Rio Ferdinand even said that Ward-Prowse should retire from international duty in protest at the snub.
Joe Cole warns Gareth Southgate over his West Ham blind spot and says England boss ‘silly’ to continue to ignore James Ward-Prowse
Since the international break, Ward-Prowse has scored against Man City and laid on two assists in a 3-1 Europa League win over TSC Backa Topola.
Now a former Hammers star has sent a stark message to the Three Lions boss with the October international break on the horizon.
Joe Cole warns Southgate over his West Ham blind spot and says England boss would be ‘silly’ to continue to ignore Ward-Prowse.
“He’s exceptional! Exceptional,” Cole said on TNT Sports.
‘It would be silly to ignore him’
“Really unique footballer, top footballer. I’ve been a fan but (even) I’m surprised how well he’s done…
“His set-pieces, I don’t think there’s anyone in world football with that kind of quality and what he gives West Ham is – the days when they’re not playing well – you know you just need one strike and you’re away.
“He’s going to deliver it and it could be a (Tomas) Soucek, a (Kurt) Zouma, an (Angelo) Ogbonna, a (Nayef) Aguerd, anyone – there’s going to be opportunities to score goals.
“He’s come to West Ham, away from all that pressure (of being captain and figurehead in a poor Southampton side) and David Moyes has just gone ‘You just do this, this and this, relax and enjoy your football’ and he’s thriving.
“He wasn’t in the England squad. But if he keeps performing like he’s performing it will be very, very hard for Gareth to ignore him. It would be silly to ignore him… you might be playing against a top side in a tournament, struggling for possession, those games where you can’t get nothing out of it. Two or three set pieces and it gets you back in the game.”
READ ALSO
Arsenal site’s insulting Rice claim is a real slap in the face for West Ham.
Klopp raves about ‘exciting’ West Ham and praises two Hammers stars.
West Ham fans thought ‘new feature’ had been installed at London Stadium.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
