James Ward Prowse is being mentioned as a shock contender for a place in England's World Cup squad after beng named in third place in Sky Sports latest power rankings table for the Premier League.

Sky Sports publish a weekly table which ranks Premier League players not just on goals and assists but on a total of 32 different statistics including blocks, tackles, passes etc and these are also weighted depending on the importance.

Each weekly table assess the last five games for a player and in the table released this week James Ward Prowse has rocketed to 3rd after his impressive performance against West Brom, where he not only scored a great free kick but also took the corner that lead to Jack Stephens giving Saints the lead.

This capped another good all round performance from JWP which has been reflected in his ranking.

Eden Hazard tops the list followed by Sergio Aquero and then our own Ward Prowse.

Liverpool's Mo Salah is next up and that has proved an outcry amongst Liverpool supporters who feel that he should be top, but this table shows that it is comprehensive, although a player like Salah who it cannot be denied is explosive, it also perhaps highlights that his contribution to the team is not as goo overall as someone like Ward Prowse who offers more that just goals and assists.

This has lead to some areas of the media suggesting that Ward Prowse is pushing himself into Gareth Southgates World Cup plans, the England manager knows JWP well from their time in the U21's where our man ended his time as Captain.

Some Saints fans wondered why he filled that position, but in recent weeks they are stating to see why, Ward Prowse is finally starting to show the potential that has been there since his debut in the Premier League almost six years ago, that was perhaps part of his problem, we have watched him mature from boy to man and sometimes that is hard to see the improvements.

But this season he has started to look like he believes he should be in the Premier League, he has a new found confidence that really came out against West Brom and this could see him perhaps force his way into the England reckoning.

Jack Stephens also makes a surprise appearance at 7th and even Mario Lemina who sneaks in at 50th.

Photo: Action Images

SaintBrock added 10:12 - Feb 8 Who'd have thought it eh? When the world starts lauding a player of such obviously limited ability we really are in the deep brown muddy!
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mgprobert added 10:47 - Feb 8 I think this proves again that Saints fans aren't necessarily the best judges of their own player's contribution
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saintpp added 11:03 - Feb 8 Some fans forget he is only 23 as he has been around so long.For sure his best days are still ahead of him and in the position he plays he could well still be top player for another ten years. He was born in Pompey but is one of our own and if he can continue his scoring and lay a few crosses on for Carillo (starting on sunday i hope) he could get into england squad. Offers more than some of the carthorses that get picked. Sadly some of our fans lack the patience to see him develop,he had his best season last year under CP and now is forcing MP to pick him regulary. My Liverpool mate (from surrey of course) has asked about him already so seems he is on their radar.

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GeordieSaint added 11:50 - Feb 8 Surely he is better than Hazard?
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underweststand added 11:56 - Feb 8 Can't say I'm totally surprised, it was only a matter of time until he would succeed. People forget he debuted in the Prem. aged 17 and has been up against international players in the Saints squad ever since. I won't detract from admiration for Steven Davis (now 33) who has played +/- 190 games for Saints and scored 12 goals. whilst many of JWP's +/- 160 games have been as sub. and yet he has managed 10 goals. JWP played 50 times for England (U17-U21), and 31 of those were at U21 where he finished as captain (under then U21 manager Gareth Southgate. That hasn't gone unnoticed , but not getting regular outings has hampered his club development. Now he has found a suitable role, he deserves a place in the England squad if anyone does, and looking at the form of other English Prem.players in that role, I'd say he has a good chance of getting the nod over most of them, and maybe even score afew. It would be good to see him at international level. I won't compare him to David Beckham (who apparantly was his role model) but perhaps remind ourselves that Beckham played for England 20 times - before he scored HIS first international goal. Go for it Prowsie!

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bstokesaint added 12:14 - Feb 8 It just goes to prove what can be achieved with a more regular place in the team. I almost find it amusing that my wife and her dad go to games and more often than not give credit to JWP for some of the stuff he does which goes unnoticed and that my bro-in-law spends his whole time ranting from his sofa about him. I say fair play to JWP, if he gets a call-up it’s only what an English player of his ability would have got anyway at a ‘bigger’ club. I still think he needs to score more goals in open play and be more of a threat from direct free kicks just outside of the box, but he’s shown over the past few games that he is heading in the right direction.

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larry12 added 12:15 - Feb 8 Henderson, Mr Plod and Gareth Barry in midfield with Milner at left back. I can see it now. Brazil 0 England 26.
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SanMarco added 12:41 - Feb 8 He has definitely improved but coming third in some set of Sky boll*cks does not make him a world beater. He still doesn't do enough in open play - but as a long-time critic I am willing to say that I no longer throw things at the screen when I see him on the team sheet.
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SaintBrock added 12:45 - Feb 8 "I think this proves again that Saints fans aren't necessarily the best judges of their own player's contribution" Isn't this akin to shooting yourself in the foot mgprobert... ? It's only opinion after all on both sides.
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BoondockSaint added 13:57 - Feb 8 All this show is that there is something wrong with SkySports algorithms! Glad he has improved this year, but I still feel he needs more muscle and more accuracy. Unfortunately, these days I'd be more impressed if we had players capped for Iceland! .
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saintmark1976 added 14:30 - Feb 8 Good luck to him. However,some of us were privileged enough to have been able to watch top quality midfielders wearing red and white. I give you Ball,Williams and Holmes.Trust me, JWP has a long way to go before he begins to approach their standards but I wish him well in his endeavours.
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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 14:49 - Feb 8 JWP haters can keep thier mouths shut now. Last 5 games he's been brilliant for us. He's given 100% every game, his effort and commitment rubs off on others, he's provided a quality end product when we've needed it most. You can't ask for any more from him. Keep this up and he'll be one the first names on the team sheet, along with Lemina, and he'll be in that England squad in no time. His problem has always been no end product. Goals and assists have always been lacking. He just needs to keep to this current level and keep improving and let's see if he can fulfill his potential. You never know, in a years time he might be that Sigurdsson type player that we've been crying out for! His recent performances show that he could be.....

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pete_boggs added 16:38 - Feb 8 Like Sigurdsson on valium.
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ExiledSupporter added 17:10 - Feb 8 I find this statistic rather surprising, like many others. Perhaps it would be more valid if it was over a period of ten or fifteen games, rather than the last five. On the other hand Nick must be amazed to see Stephens at No.7, like I am too, but it must be galling for someone who has been consistently critical of Stephens, again with some good reason, although his goals have been pretty crucial. If we hadn't bought Carrillo it might have been a viable plan to play him as a striker!!! He's got x3 the number of goals that Long has for instance.

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Bettwsresident added 18:40 - Feb 8 Saintmark76: I first started watching saints with Jimmy Case caressing the ball and David Armstrong bossing the midfield and thundering in 10 goals a season. They were both proper players
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