Rio Ferdinand believes James Ward-Prowse should retire from international football after being left out of the latest England squad.
Ward-Prowse has made a superb start to life at West Ham since making a £30million summer move from Southampton, scoring once and providing three assists in his three Premier League appearances.
However, it was not enough for him to earn an England call-up, as the Three Lions prepare for matches against Ukraine and Scotland during the international break.
Kalvin Phillips has been included by Gareth Southgate, despite playing just six minutes of Premier League football this season, while Jordan Henderson’s move to Saudi Arabia has not impacted his involvement with the national side.
Speaking on his FIVE podcast, Ferdinand claimed the England boss was being “disrespectful” towards Ward-Prowse.
“I’d retire,” Ferdinand said. “If I’m people like Ward-Prowse I’d just retire.
“Say, ‘listen, don’t pick me no more. There’s no point. It’s disrespectful what you’re doing’. It is to people like him, especially Ward-Prowse who’s been putting up numbers for his team on a regular basis. What more does a man have to do to get a sniff?”
Ferdinand was equally critical about the decision to include Harry Maguire in the squad, with the defender struggling for starts over the last year at Manchester United but still earning an England call-up.
He said: “I’ve never known a manager to pick players that are consistently not playing.
“I get it if a player hasn’t played for five, six or ten games maybe. But Phillips and Maguire don’t kick a ball. They don’t play, they do warm-ups and they’re getting in England squads. It amazes me.”
