Andros Townsend has told the ITV Football Podcast that Jack Wilshere still has the capabilities of being ‘world-class’ amid the talk that he could sign for Rangers.
Gers legend Ally McCoist has backed calls for free-agent Wilshere to re-unite with his former England teammate Steven Gerrard at Ibrox, as he told talkSPORT.
Wilshere mutually agreed to terminate his contract at West Ham on Deadline Day because his game time had gone out of the window.
Crystal Palace winger, Townsend, who played alongside the left-footed midfielder with England, shared he feels ‘sorry’ for the player, but if he can remain injury-free then he is of ‘world-class’ quality.
“The saddest thing is there’s so much of the public out there who see Jack Wilshere get injured and the first thing they do is make fun of him,” Townsend told the ITV Football Podcast.
“Take the mick out of him. Saying, ‘he’s still getting his wages what’s he upset about’. But it’s more than that about a player. Jack Wilshere should have or could have been one of the best players we produced in this country.
“Unfortunately, through no fault of his own, he’s not picking up muscle injuries. He’s picking up his ankle, his bones and his ligaments. It’s contact injuries. As a player, with muscle injuries you can say maybe I am living wrong, doing the wrong things, but with ligament and contact injuries, there’s not much you can do about it.
“I feel sorry for Jack. I hope another club in the Premier League sees what he can bring and gives him another chance because there was a world-class player there. I am sure if he gets a run of games, he gets back to match fitness, he avoids those niggling injuries then there’s a world-class player there.”
Whilst Wilshere has always had this injured tag stuck to his shoulders, for a number of months now he has been out of the treatment room.
It was just a case of David Moyes opting against selecting him even for his matchday squads, as the Arsenal academy product now searches for first-team football.
A potential move to Scotland is an interesting one because Gerrard knows Wilshere’s game and it’s something that could work out, so it will be interesting to see what happens during these coming weeks.
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