West Ham United: Door now wide open for James Ward-Prowse to reclaim England spot after Eberechi Eze injury news
The door has now been left wide open for West Ham United midfielder James Ward-Prowse to reclaim his England spot for this month’s international games after Eberechi Eze’s latest injury blow.
According to Daily Mail, posting on their official Twitter account (3 October), the Crystal Palace who had been called up for last month’s internationals at the expense of Ward-Prowse looks set to miss England games against Italy and Australia with a hamstring injury.
The news will also arrive as a disappointment to England boss Gareth Southgate ahead of Thursday’s squad announcement for the matches against Australia and Italy but it could hand Ward-Prowse the chance to return after a brilliant start to his West Ham career.
Ward-Prowse has instantly shone since his move from St Mary’s over the summer with five-goal involvements (2 goals, 3 assists) in six league matches since making the switch from Southampton and Southgate’s decision to exclude him from last month’s squad drew plenty of criticism around the country.
It was ridiculous to not see either Ward-Prowse or even Jarrod Boewn in the squads earlier this season given the pairs’ excellent start to the campaign, but surely after this latest injury news, Ward-Prowse should now be a sure bet to be included with his great Hammers form continuing so far.
Southgate does have his favourites as shown by the constant inclusion of Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips in squads, despite neither player getting more than a handful of minutes for their club sides in recent seasons, yet the form of the West Ham stars cannot be ignored.
There is nobody in the England squad with a better delivery than the former Southampton man from set-pieces and he has the ability to change games at the drop of the hat, while Bowen has scored more goals than any other Englishman in the Premier League this season.
Both players certainly deserve to reclaim their England spots right now and with the Euros around the corner next summer, Southgate should really be picking players on form and consistency now which Ward-Prowse and Bowen have largely been for most of the new 2023/24 campaign so far.
The former Southampton man’s ability to change games within an instant with his tremendous set-piece deliveries and midfield endeavour should not be discounted in Thursday’s announcement.
After Eze’s injury blow, Southgate surely now knows what he needs to do in response: Give Ward-Prowse his spot back, it is richly deserved too.
In other West Ham news, one senior player may now be finished at the London Stadium after what Moyes did again in 2-0 win over Sheffield United.