Paul Merson fears James Ward-Prowse and his England career could end due to the questionable selections of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson.
James Ward-Prowse has made a blistering start to the season with West Ham. But England boss Gareth Southgate has decided against picking him for the national side.
Merson questions on Ward-Prowse’s snub for Trent and Hendo
The 28-year-old was controversially left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for this month’s games against Ukraine and Scotland.
The former Southampton midfielder has made a brilliant start to the campaign by scoring once and providing three assists.
On the other hand, Trent Alexander-Arnold was selected to play in midfield ahead of Ward-Prowse, despite being a right-back by trade.
Moreover, he rarely plays the Liverpool man in his primary position of right-back. The gaffer prefers to play him in midfield, insisting he was “very happy with him” in June.
Meanwhile, Henderson also remains part of England’s squad despite his move to the Saudi League. This has caused a stir amongst England fans as they question his selection. This is due to the fact that many believe Saudi League is way below Premier League standards.
Hence, Merson believes that the West Ham man has little hope of his England start ahead of Henderson.
Merson on SkySports claimed that Ward-Prowse would have thought that he would never play again for England.
“If you’re James Ward-Prowse, you’re thinking, ‘I’m never playing for England’. You’ve got someone (Henderson) who’s playing in the Saudi league in front of 6,000 people every week and then you’ve got Ward-Prowse, who’s playing very well for West Ham. He’s been one of the game changers but he doesn’t get a look in.
It’s ridiculous. Alexander-Arnold is a defender. He played one game in midfield for England against Malta. I mean… Malta. I expect a professional footballer in the Premier League to be able to do well in midfield against Malta.”
Additionally, he has questioned the inclusion of Kalvin Phillips, who has barely played since his move to Manchester City in the summer of 2022.
“And what about Kalvin Phillips? He doesn’t play football. When I played, if Gazza (Paul Gascoigne) wasn’t playing, he wouldn’t get picked – and he was the best player by a million miles.”
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