Former Arsenal forward Paul Merson has claimed that Joe Hart's hopes of being England's number one at the 2018 World Cup could be over after the goalkeeper lost his spot in the West Ham United team.

Adrian has started West Ham's last two matches after impressing against Manchester City last weekend, with Hart forced to sit on the bench for the London club's 1-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday afternoon.

Merson has suggested that on-loan Manchester City stopper Hart will find it extremely difficult to break back into the Hammers side, which would effectively rule him out of starting next summer's World Cup as England's number one goalkeeper.

"With goalkeepers, it's very different to strikers. With strikers, if your replacement doesn't score in three games you are probably back in, but with a goalkeeper, you need them to make a major mistake to get back into the team. That could be his World Cup over. This is it," Merson told Sky Sports News.

"If Adrian has an absolute blinder for the next three months, then Hart's World Cup is out of the window. If he is playing in the team, he goes to the World Cup, if not then I don't see how he will play. He went to West Ham on the strength of the World Cup, not to win the league, but to play first-team football so he will be number one at the World Cup."

Everton's Jordan Pickford is believed to be the main competitor for Hart when it comes to the goalkeeping position for the Three Lions.