‘Don’t jump ship’ – Ex-England striker Bobby Zamora advises Nketiah, Hudson-Odoi to snub Ghana

Former West Ham and England international Bobby Zamora has advised Tariq Lamptey, Eddie Nketiah and Calum Hudson-Odoi to not ‘jump the gun’ by snubbing England to represent Ghana.

Per reports, the trio who have represented England at various youth levels are on the verge of switching allegiance to represent Ghana, increasing their chances of playing at the 2022 World Cup to be staged in Qatar later this year.

However, Bobby Zamora who earned two caps for England has urged the trio to remain patient, sharing his experience of being approached by Trinidad and Tobago during his playing days but decided to wait for his England chance, a decision he described as ‘one of the best moments of his life’.

“My dad is from Trinidad and Tobago, and they actually came calling when I was at Brighton. I considered, but Peter Taylor had just come in, who had connections with England, and he said, ‘listen, don’t jump just yet, you’ve got the ability, and you can do this,” Zamora said quoted by FootballLondon.

“So I actually waited and got into the Under-21s, and I felt that I was good enough to play for the national team. So I bided my time to see if I could get in that England squad, and I finally did, and it was probably one of the best moments of my life.

“For the guys mentioned, they’re so close and so young. I think it’s probably a bit too early for them to jump ship. All of those guys have got the ability to make a real difference and make a big impact for England,” he added.