Gary Lineker puzzled after James Ward-Prowse development at West Ham United
Gary Lineker has reacted to Gareth Southgate’s decision to leave both West Ham ace James Ward-Prowse and Chelsea star Raheem Sterling out of his latest England squad, stating his surprise.
The podcast host and BBC presenter shared that, while he views the England squad selection as a thankless task as someone will always be left out, he was surprised at the omissions of both Premier League stars.
Lineker also questioned the decisions to stick by Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips but not Ward-Prowse or Sterling, with the former two having far worse struggles at club level.
Lineker was speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast [10 October, 31:52], as he discussed the recent England squad selection alongside co-hosts Micah Richards and Alan Shearer.
“Whoever’s in the squad, someone has to be left out. There will always be players that certain people, we all have a view on who should be in, who should be out, so it’s a thankless task in many ways.
“But there are some things that do surprise you a little bit,” said the host. “Raheem Sterling for example has been in good form early in the season, he’s been particularly good in the last couple of games.
“He’s always been brilliant for Gareth Southgate and an important player for Gareth Southgate which [his exclusion from the squad] is surprising. Of course, things do change but he’s stuck by other players who have had more problems at club level.
“Harry Maguire and certainly Kalvin Phillips who’s still in the squad, he’s not getting a kick generally [at Manchester City].” Lineker went on to say: “Ward-Prowse is left out as well, so I suppose there’s always going to be someone isn’t there?”
Continually baffling decisions
While the decisions made by Southgate should come as no surprise given his recent form for questionable squad selections, it doesn’t make his decisions any more understandable, with the choice to overlook Ward-Prowse’s form the most confusing of all.
The Hammers star has eight goal contributions in his nine games since arriving at the London Stadium in the summer, with five of those coming in seven Premier League starts.
He also offers a specialist ability on set-pieces which can often be the difference between winning and losing games, as West Ham have displayed excellently this season, so that alone should put him further up the ladder.
The continued presence of Kalvin Phillips in place of Ward-Prowse, when his lack of performances has more recently turned into a string of poor performances when called upon, will continue to baffle fans and pundits alike.
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