West Ham United told to ‘go and sign’ James Ward-Prowse now amid transfer ‘problem’
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
Frank McAvennie believes West Ham need to “go and sign” Southampton midfielder James-Ward Prowse before the Championship season kicks off.
The pundit shared the verdict ahead of the Championship opener on Friday night (4 August), where the Saints travel to Sheffield Wednesday.
And Southampton boss Russell Martin [Sky Sports News, 3 August] has confirmed that captain Ward-Prowse will be involved in the match amid interest from the Hammers.
The East London club have not given up on signing the midfielder this summer, according to Sky Sports News (3 August).
But former player McAvennie believes his old club have a “problem” on their hands with such signatures given how they held out for £105million to sell Declan Rice to Arsenal.
Hammers representatives will potentially be watching on as Southampton take on the Owls in their first match following their relegation from the Premier League, with David Moyes’s men kick-starting their league campaign against Bournemouth next Saturday (12 August).
The Hammers have one final pre-season friendly remaining before that match against the Cherries, with the East London outfit taking on German club Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday (5 August).
Speaking to West Ham Zone, McAvennie said: “The Southampton manager has quite rightly said Ward-Prowse will be playing against Sheffield Wednesday. He’s going to play him, and I don’t have any problem with that.
“But West Ham then need to get the finger out and go and sign him. Just do it, stop talking about it. The Ward-Prowse saga, how many episodes are in this series?
“They are worried that clubs are holding out for more money… West Ham did it with Rice, which is the problem.”
In other West Ham news, Rory Jennings has slammed Moyes in a sack verdict shared live on talkSPORT.