JOHN STONES should miss out on England’s 26-man squad for the World Cup this summer, according to Anton Ferdinand.
The Manchester City defender has only played seven league games this season with a multitude of injuries piling up over the past year or so. Most recently, his thigh has been causing him problems.
Anton Ferdinand now works as an ambassador for West Ham, the club he made 163 appearances forCredit: Getty
Anton playing against his brother Rio, who also started his career at West HamCredit: Getty – Contributor
John Stones has been plagued by injury problems for the past yearCredit: Getty
Jordan Henderson has rebuilt his career after failed stops in Saudi Arabia and AjaxCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
has until May 11th to name his World Cup squad and legend Ferdinand told SunSport that Stones will struggle to make the cut.
“I think my starting pair would be Marc Guehi and .
“I think is going to have a say, especially the way he’s playing at the moment in a team that’s thriving and doing really well.
“Who else will go? has a chance of going, but I don’t see going. Unless he plays from now until the end of the season and looks half decent, which, as I know, is difficult.”
The 31-year-old has 87 caps for England and has been a mainstay of the teams that have reached two European Championship finals and a World Cup semi.
Perhaps Tuchel would take Stones for his experience and pedigree? Ferdinand, who played 17 times for U21s, believes would be better suited in that role.
“If you’re going to take someone for leadership quality, you take someone for what they’ve done in the game and to be a real influence on the team – you take Jordan Henderson I think. You don’t take a centre-back.
“From what you hear he’s a positive influence on the team. Not saying Stones isn’t, but the likelihood of him playing in the World Cup is minimal. I’d take Henderson as that senior head rather than Stones.”
Another hot topic among fans recently has been who are the best centre-backs in Premier League history?
– who has a – made a case for himself on talkSPORT after some had claimed Virgil Van Dijk had risen to number one.
But Anton believes Terry is right up there as an all-time great – after his brother Rio.
“I think Rio is number one. Call it bias if you want to, but the reason why I say it is, anyone around the world who is classed as being the best in the world, they’re mirrored on Rio, not other defenders.
“They’re mirrored on the way they deal with the ball, can they come out with the ball and can they defend. And Rio did all of that. And he won the lot. So I say Rio is number one.
“I say John Terry is number two, for sure.
“Number three… corr, number three is hard. I’ll go with . It’s so hard. You’ve got , , – but I think those two, Rio and JT, when you talk about Premier League greats, those two are the two most people speak about about.
” I think you’ve got to put Virgil in that conversation because he has been consistent for a number of years now and his impact on the team.”
Chelsea captain John Terry (right) and Manchester United captain Rio Ferdinand (left)Credit: PA:Empics Sport
Nuno Espirito Santo appears to be turning around West Ham’s fortunesCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Ferdinand, who works for West Ham as an ambassador seven years after his football career came to a close in Scotland, spoke to Sun Sport at the club’s Foundry complex, the multi-million pound community hub they opened last year.
The facility enables West Ham to reach more than 60,000 people each year via 35 dedicated programmes catering for all ages and backgrounds in east London.
Anton watched on as local kids went through some drills with West Ham fans and Matchroom stars Geroge Liddard, Jimmy Sains and Connor Mitchell.
The Hammers are only sitting in the relegation zone on goal difference with eight games to go, and Ferdinand has seen enough from boss to believe they will avoid the drop this year.
“I think the business that the manager did in January, the players have been very, very good. They’ve come in and settled the side and are doing what they’re meant to do.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position where we can stay up and that’s all we wanted – long may that continue.
“The camaraderie; I’m lucky enough that I’m able to go into the changing room at some points throughout the weeks and throughout the months. So I see the camaraderie, I see the confidence. 100 percent I’ve seen an improvement [since Nuno came in].
“Not just the team, but the whole place. The whole place is galvanized together to fight this fight and it’s just brilliant to see.”
Tickets to Liddard vs Denny are on sale now via https://www.matchroomboxing.com/ . The event takes place at the Copper Box Arena on Saturday, March 21- live on DAZN- featuring Jimmy Sains and fellow Hammers Connor Mitchell and headline star George Liddard.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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