Saints have tried to rescue the West Ham deal for James Ward-Prowse with a big compromise over the fee after some Hammers brinkmanship.
As with most transfers involving West Ham, the move for Southampton midfield ace James Ward-Prowse has turned into a saga.
Without a single signing in the summer transfer window, West Ham are under intense pressure to get players in.
Even manager David Moyes is said to have issued the Hammers board an ultimatum over getting a deal done by this weekend.
The move for Ward-Prowse has offered a glimmer of hope during what has been a hopeless window for the Hammers thus far.
Because reports have consistently claimed the negotiations between West Ham and the Saints looked set to result in the England midfielder ending up at the London Stadium.
Saints try to rescue West Ham deal for James Ward-Prowse with big compromise over fee after Hammers brinkmanship
But the situation took another twist yesterday when it was revealed West Ham were going to walk away from a move for Ward-Prowse after a second bid of £25m was rejected.
That was reiterated by Sky Sports last night with the outlet briefed that West Ham had ended their interest in Ward-Prowse because they feel Southampton are asking for too much money.
But the transfer may not be completely dead just yet.
Because Saints have tried to rescue the West Ham deal for Ward-Prowse with a big compromise over the fee after some Hammers brinkmanship.
It has been suggested West Ham’s declaration they are ‘moving on to other targets’ is designed to force Southampton to lower the price for their skipper.
And it may have worked.
Could deal structured heavily around performance related bonuses bring West Ham back to the negotiating table?
Because The Daily Record claim sources have told them Southampton are willing to do a deal with West Ham that is built around ‘sizeable performance-related bonuses’ instead.
“Record Sport understands that Rasmus Ankersen and recently appointed director of football Jason Wilcox are seeking a revised bid that will reward Southampton with sizeable performance-related bonuses if Ward-Prowse establishes himself as West Ham’s most productive attacking player,” the report states.
And there’s a good chance he would be.
West Ham are one of the best set piece sides in the top flight.
And the England international has scored, or been credited with an assist, for 89 goals across 343 top-tier appearances for Southampton.
Time will tell whether the compromise is enough to get West Ham to return to the negotiating table.