West Ham drop out of Kalvin Phillips race to focus on James Ward-Prowse
West Ham are willing to concede their interest in Kalvin Phillips and are “focussed” on signing James Ward-Prowse in the summer, according to Fabrizio Romano.
David Moyes’ side was linked with a staggering £50million move for the Leeds United ace in January but are no longer “serious contenders” for the England international.
The Irons have switched their focus to fellow Englishman, Ward-Prowse after his impressive display with the Saints – notching 19 goal involvements in all competitions.
“West Ham have been linked with (Kalvin) Phillips in the recent past, but I don’t expect them to be serious contenders for him now,” Romano wrote in his CaughtOffside column.
“Instead, the Hammers are now focused on Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse as an appreciated player for the midfield, but he is not an easy target.”
Exciting.
The Southampton skipper certainly isn’t as attractive of a signing as Philips is. He plays the most important role in that Leeds team and his undeniable quality has seen him one of the most sought after midfielders in the Premier League of late which is why the Hammers have reportedly turned their attention elsewhere.
The Hammers would have a really tough time tempting the Yorkshire lad to come to the London Stadium given the elite clubs that are interested in him and they are doing the right thing in not wasting their time because if he was going to leave his boyhood club – you would imagine it would be a huge move, which joining West Ham isn’t unfortunately.
Make no mistake, Ward-Prowse is still an excellent player. His form has also seen him selected for England whilst he almost single handily carries that Southampton team on his back.
He is a really exciting player who could go from strength to strength with better players and his set-piece ability would really suit Moyes’ style of play.
In other West Ham news, View: a key West Ham man has humiliated himself with a series of off the mark rants.
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