Matt Le Tissier has the same reservations as the rest of the Southampton fanatics, it seems, when it comes to a potential homecoming for West Ham United midfielder James Ward-Prowse.
Nuno Espirito Santo is clearly not afraid of making big, and occasionally headline-grabbing, decisions.
On his first outing as West Ham United’s head coach, and only two days after he reunited with a player he worked with briefly at Nottingham Forest, Nuno dropped Ward-Prowse from the matchday squad for that 1-1 draw at Everton.
And while Nuno left the door open for Ward-Prowse to force his way back in ahead of Saturday’s trip to London neighbours Arsenal, speculation over the England international’s future has understandably gone into overdrive.
Hammers News have been informed that West Ham are hoping Southampton come forward with an offer to re-sign their former skipper. Preferably, in January.
Though, speaking after the Saints supporters poured cold water on those Ward-Prowse plans, Le Tissier was equally pessimistic.
Matt Le Tissier speaks on James Ward-Prowse leaving West Ham United for Southampton
While the now-30-year-old midfielder has gone missing more often than ‘Where’s Wally?’ on a crowded beach afternoon – Ward-Prowse anonymous at best in most of his West Ham appearances prior to Nuno’s appointment – Le Tissier feels that he still has a lot to offer.
Particularly at a Southampton side looking to make an immediate return to the Premier League, and struggling for consistency under new head coach Will Still.
“Obviously, if the club can afford it, he’s somebody who will bring a decent bit of quality into the team,” Le Tissier, who played over 500 games and scored more than 200 goals for the Saints between 1986 and 2002, tells Give Me Sport.
“We know what his set pieces are like, and he’s a very good passer of the ball. So he’s got qualities there that can definitely improve on what we’ve got at the moment.”
Hammers News have heard that, at the London Stadium, there is an acceptance that the club will have to accept a massive financial loss on the £30 million fee they paid Southampton back in 2023.
One rather substantial stumbling block remains, however. His reported £115,000-a-week wages.
After Southampton worked so hard to cut their wage bill by £40 million following relegation, per the Swiss Ramble, bringing an ageing, declining Ward-Prowse back would seem like an odd move indeed.
“Obviously, we’re in the Championship now. The budgets are very different,” adds Le Tissier. “And I’d imagine James’ wages now are certainly way above what anyone at Saints is on.”
Paul Konchesky will know how Ward-Prowse feels under Nuno Espirito Santo
Ward-Prowse started only five Premier League matches during his brief spell alongside Nuno at the City Ground. Nottingham Forest even agreed to terminate his loan midway through the 2024/25 campaign.
So when it became apparent that the 51-year-old Portuguese would be replacing Graham Potter, the writing was certainly on the wall.
Former Hammers left-back Paul Konchesky will know how Ward-Prowse is feeling right now. He found himself in a very similar position when reunited with Alan Curbishley – his one-time Charlton Athletic boss – at Upton Park in 2006.
“When I left Charlton to go to West Ham, I put a transfer request in,” Konchesky recalls, speaking on the Under the Cosh podcast. “Me and the manager fell out.
“The relationship was frosty. [When Curbishley was hired by West Ham] I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can play for him again. I know how he is and what he did to me!’”
“We went away to Reading and lost 6-0. After that, I didn’t play again. When [Curbishley] came in, we sat down and he said, ‘it’s a clean slate’. I thought, ‘I know it’s not!’ Then, he bought someone else, so I knew then it was game over.
“I probably didn’t help saying, ‘I don’t want to play for you, and blah, blah, blah’. But that was at Charlton, not at West Ham! Deep down, I knew my time was over really.”
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