Alan Pardew has been dropping hints for a month, saying Taylor is "England class".
But there could be a happy ending; if Ferdinand decides he is finished with his international career.
Roy Hodgson dropped the Man Utd defender because he didn't want him in the same squad as John Terry, but now Terry is not involved anymore and the England coach could have egg on his face.
Alex Ferguson says he was "as surprised as anyone" when Rio Ferdinand was named in the latest England squad.
Ferdinand was selected by Roy Hodgson for this month's World Cup qualifiers with San Marino and Montenegro, the first time he has been called up by the current England boss since he took charge just before Euro 2012.
Ferguson: "I was as surprised as anyone when I heard.
"I need to speak to the (United) doctor because we prepare Rio Ferdinand in a certain way and there are certain treatments he has to go through.
"He has to make sure he is going to be OK in terms of the number of games he plays.
"We have been doing that for two years and it has worked. We have to look at all these things before Rio decides (if he joins up)."
If Ferdinand did not report it would be a minor embarrassment for Hodgson given his climbdown from previous statements that he has "moved on" from the Manchester United defender.