Southampton set £50m asking price for James Ward-Prowse as West Ham United target told he can leave
West Ham United transfer target James Ward-Prowse is open to leaving Southampton this summer after they put a £50m price tag on his head, say 90min.
The Saints skipper has been outstanding this season with seven goals and two assists, but has so far been unable to move them away from a relegation battle and the drop now looks likely.
And after spending his entire career at the club Ward-Prowse is now open to an exit with the club open to selling him if they receive a bid of around £50m.
West Ham were linked with a move for the England international last summer, with Paul Merson backing the move, but it never materialised as David Moyes instead opted for Lucas Paqueta.
But with Declan Rice likely to leave and Tomas Soucek entering the final 12 months of his contract, midfield is a position the Hammers could look to bolster and a return for Ward-Prowse could be on the cards.
Pricey
Ward-Prowse is an interesting player, because he has some really outstanding attributes in his skillset but he can also be seen as quite limited.
Obviously he is a dead-ball specialist, with Ian Wright calling him “elite”, and his passing is also good too. But aside from that, he offers a minimal physical presence and that doesn’t suit the way West Ham play.
For £50m you would expect a player who is at least more complete than that, and at 28-years-old he hardly represents someone who would have a good re-sale value either.
It would be a weird deal, but there is no doubting his quality on the ball and if West Ham are keen to improve then they need to be on the ball more regularly than they were this season.
If Southampton get relegated and West Ham avoid the drop then there is surely potential for that price to be negotiated down a bit, but it would still be a big outlay on a pricey deal that we don’t necessarily need.