James Ward-Prowse only joined West Ham United 12 months ago, but his days at the club could already be numbered.
It was claimed last week that West Ham head coach Julen Lopetegui wants to sell James Ward-Prowse this summer.
And now those rumours are unsurprisingly gathering pace, with the Hammers boss keen to raise funds before Friday’s deadline.
James Ward-Prowse joined West Ham from Southampton this time last year, for a fee believed to be worth around £30 million.
Despite plenty of assists direct from corners, the former Southampton man has been labelled as a one-trick pony, because of his lack of influence on the game outside of set-pieces.
That’s fair if you ask me. He just doesn’t put himself about enough, and his lack of physicality really inhibits West Ham team in the engine room when he starts for us.
Now his time in East London could be up.
West Ham set ambitious James Ward-Prowse asking price
So the ex-Southampton man seems to be surplus to requirements under Lopetegui at the London Stadium.
I don’t see any problem with that – the club need to raise funds sharpish, and the 11-capped England international is probably one of our most sellable assets right now.
Ward-Prowse’s time as a West Ham player could be coming to an end, only a year after his Hammers career begun.
According to a report from Caught Offside, West Ham have slapped a £25 million asking price on the 29-year-old midfielder.
I think that £25 million is a tad ambitious for Ward-Prowse. He’ll be 30 in November don’t forget.
The former Southampton midfielder’s trademark free-kicks have been non existent for us, although his corners and balls into the box in general have been pretty much on-point.
He has absolutely zero mobility or physicality, and is often bypassed in the middle of the park.
The 30-year-old Englishman has played just 55 games for West Ham, and if Lopetegui sells him it will highlight the error David Moyes made by signing him last summer.
James Ward-Prowse is now the fourth choice central midfielder at West Ham at best, and if Carlos Soler does join us he will hardly get any minutes whatsoever.
Selling him this summer will definitely be the correct call from the Hammers, but I think we’ll end up getting closer to £15-20 million for him.
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