Gabby Agbonlahor urges West Ham United star James Ward-Prowse to sign for ‘bigger club’ amid England snub
Gabby Agbonlahor has urged West Ham star James Ward-Prowse to sign for a “big club” after he was snubbed by England for the upcoming internationals.
The 28-year-old has impressed in his opening few games with the Hammers after making the move to the London Stadium from Southampton for £30million, but he was overlooked by Gareth Southgate for the games against Ukraine and Scotland.
When asked by talkSPORT guest Tom Skinner on 7 September why Ward-Prowse wasn’t selected, pundit Agbonlahor said it’s because he needs to sign for a “big club” before he then admitted the midfielder should be in the squad.
“Ward-Prowse is brilliant – how come he isn’t getting picked for England as well?” asked Skinner.
“Because he’s at West Ham,” replied Agbonlahor. “He needs to go to a big club. He should be in the squad though.”
Rubbish
Although Agbonlahor perhaps only made the statement to annoy West Ham fan Skinner, there could be a part of him that means what he said.
The pundit recently aimed a dig at the Hammers’ trophy-winning squad when he claimed Aston Villa have had a stronger side for the past two seasons than the Irons team that won the Europa Conference League in June.
Ward-Prowse definitely hasn’t missed out on being selected for England because he plays for the East Londoners after Declan Rice represented his country for a number of years while wearing claret and blue.
The former Saints captain has also already racked up 11 caps under Southgate, so it’s clearly got nothing to do with which club he plays for.
Unfortunately for the midfielder, he is probably still being overlooked following Southampton’s relegation, but if he carries on his early form for the Irons – where he’s scored one goal and laid on three assists in his opening three games – then he should be back in the mix before too long.
In other West Ham news, an update has been provided on one star’s fitness following an injury concern.