West Ham loanee James Ward-Prowse accidentally deals blow to parent club in relegation battle

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James Ward-Prowse has inadvertently made West Ham’s Premier League survival push more difficult.

Ward-Prowse joined Burnley on loan in January after Nuno Espirito Santo froze him out of the first-team squad.

The midfielder has since played consistent minutes for the Clarets under Scott Parker, rekindling some old form.

However, Ward-Prowse made a costly mistake for Burnley on Sunday that has not helped West Ham in the slightest.

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James Ward-Prowse hampers West Ham’s survival chances

Burnley could have helped West Ham by defeating relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon.

Forest (33) started the day just one point ahead of the Hammers (32) with six games to go in the 2025/26 season.

And Parker’s side were on course to do West Ham a massive favour when Zian Flemming put them 1-0 up in the first half.

Anything less than a victory for Forest would have given Nuno’s team an opportunity to overtake them on Monday.

However, Ward-Prowse made a big mistake in the 62nd minute when his headed clearance fell to Morgan Gibbs-White.

The West Ham loanee tried to head the ball away from goal but it glanced backwards into Gibbs-White’s path inside the box.

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The Forest playmaker accepted the gift and scored the first of his three goals in the last half hour of the match.

“A level above in the first half, coming close with an awkward free kick,” the Burnley Express suggested Ward-Prowse actually had a decent performance, giving him a 6/10 rating.

But Ward-Prowse’s costly error could have been a significant turning point in the Premier League relegation battle.

Forest’s 4-1 win moved them up to 36 points, four ahead of West Ham and five ahead of 18th-placed Tottenham.

It now feels as though there is a two-way battle between the Hammers and Spurs to avoid going down to the Championship.