Kevin Nolan reveals reaction from West Ham United ace James Ward-Prowse after ‘astounding’ England snub
West Ham coach Kevin Nolan has revealed that James Ward-Prowse was “gutted” to miss out on a call-up to the England squad.
The Hammers midfielder was not selected by Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate for the current international break.
England play Australia in a friendly on Friday (13 October) before meeting Italy in Euro 2024 qualification on Tuesday (17 October).
“I just really can’t believe he’s not in that squad, I find it astounding really,” Nolan said live on talkSPORT. “And he was gutted, he didn’t hide from it. He genuinely believed that he should have been in it, and we believe he should have been in it.
“But he won’t sit and sulk, he’ll go out and prove them wrong again because he’s that type of character and such a great lad.”
Strange decision
England boss Southgate has plenty of difficult decisions to make, with only a small group of players able to be called up to the national team.
And it is extremely difficult to choose the right midfield players, with the likes of Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham currently among the top players in that position in world football.
But omitting Ward-Prowse really is a strange decision, with the Hammers ace in top form since his summer move from Southampton.
Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips have made the cut ahead of the set-piece specialist, which makes the decision to leave him out all the more peculiar.
As Nolan alluded to, however, Ward-Prowse’s club form should not be impacted, with the player set to prove Southgate wrong in the coming months with plenty of fantastic displays in claret and blue.
While the player himself is gutted, West Ham fans will be delighted that their star midfielder will stay in East London and won’t be an injury risk over the international break.
In other West Ham news, a talkSPORT journalist has made a “very unusual” claim after the latest Hammers contract news.