Southampton chief Jason Wilcox shares West Ham United bid update on James Ward-Prowse
Southampton’s director of football Jason Wilcox has confirmed the Saints have turned down a West Ham bid for James Ward-Prowse, as reported by the Sun.
The newspaper reported online (28 July) that West Ham’s bid of £25million for the 28-year-old was turned down this week and Wilcox has now confirmed this fact.
Wilcox, who arrived at St Marys last summer and has been working behind the scenes since January as he was still a Manchester City employee, says the club are in no rush to sell their captain.
“If we get the right offer – we will consider it. Consider is an important word because we don’t have to sell, we’ve got a lot of asset value and it’s about how we rebuild the squad,” Wilcox told SunSport.
And the 52-year-old has suggested David Moyes’ side will return with an improved offer, adding, “I think when a club makes an offer, very rarely is it their full and final offer.”
Expensive
It is clear that the Saints aren’t going to give up their midfielder without a fight and in their defence, why should they?
Ward-Prowse has been a key player on the South Coast for around a decade and has spent his whole career with the club after coming through the academy. He has made over 300 Premier League appearances for Southampton, scoring 49 goals.
However, after being relegated to the Championship, it is hard to imagine he would be willing to turn down an offer to return to the Premier League if Southampton were to accept a bid for him.
West Ham are in desperate need of a midfielder, perhaps even needing two. However, it seems as if a pursuit of Ward-Prowse won’t be straightforward.
After seeing a reported bid of £25million turned down the club are likely going to need to pay more than £30million and the deal could prove to be very expensive.
In other West Ham news, the club are hopeful of sealing another midfield signing.