Darren Bent names James Ward-Prowse as one of the signings of the season after West Ham United transfer
Darren Bent has named James Ward-Prowse as one of the signings of the summer after his move to West Ham, alongside James Maddison and Dominik Szoboszlai.
West Ham signed Ward-Prowse from Southampton in a deal worth around £30m following their relegation to the Championship, and he has so far chipped in with two goals and five assists in six appearances for the club.
And after being asked on talkSPORT (29 September) if Maddison or Szoboszlai were the signing of the summer, Bent mentioned the 28-year-old Hammers ace as someone who should be in the conversation too.
“Yeah, maybe a little bit early, [James] Ward-Prowse has been phenomenal for West Ham when you’re talking about his set plays and his assists,” he said.
“It’s early but I think you can say all of them, Maddison, Szboszlai and Ward-Prowse are all doing what they were brought in to do.”
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It seemed like a match made in heaven on paper when Ward-Prowse was linked to the Hammers and David Moyes over the last few summers, but nobody expected him to hit the ground running in the way he has.
Many people saw him as a set-piece merchant for a while but he has proven to be so much more than that, with great energy off the ball, a good tackler and an excellent passer in open play too.
He’s taken our midfield game up a level and because of his excellence alongside Edson Alvarez and Lucas Paqueta we have barely missed Declan Rice this season.
Value for money should be considered too and he is certainly up there with the best signings of the summer, but many people are forgetting about him because he doesn’t play for one of the “big six”.
Well played to Bent for ensuring he isn’t left out of the conversation because he fully deserves to be there, and he is already a fan favourite at the London Stadium.
In other West Ham news, “ship has sailed” for Hammers star to earn big money move to Champions League club.