EXCLUSIVE: West Ham NOT out of Ward-Prowse race
Jacque Talbot
- Updated: 2 Aug 2023 11:18 BST
- 3 min read
Exclusive
West Ham are not out of the running for Southampton's James Ward-Prowse, despite the massive U-turn that was suggested on Tuesday night.
FootballTransfers is told that the Hammers are weighing up whether to come back into talks with the Saints over a possible deal for the midfielder - but there is still some distance off a fee at this point.
Reports suggested that West Ham has ended their interest in Ward-Prowse due to the price the Championship side had asked for. There is hope a deal can be reached over a move, but the Hammers know that negotiations may drag on for a while yet.
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We understand that the club is working hard on transfers, despite not bringing in a player to the fold so far this window. The sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal this summer - which eventually ended up being £105 million - means that the side are being given inflated prices over many of their targets.
Ward-Prowse is a huge target for David Moyes, and the club remains hopeful of landing a deal for the 28-year-old. The player has been the subject of failed approaches from West Ham, with a £20 million bid rejected earlier this summer, while their last bid of £20 million plus £5 million was also knocked down.
Southampton's position is that they want £30 million paid in instalments, but West Ham have so far baulked at the price. There have been talks that the side will look elsewhere after their initial offer was snubbed, but we are told that the deal is not entirely dead.
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Ward-Prowse scored nine goals and provided four assists in his 38 Premier League matches last season. After Southampton's 4-4 draw with Liverpool on the last day of the season, the free-kick specialist said: "It is nice, of course, this is a club that has meant a lot to me. I've been here for 20 years and had a fantastic journey, I've enjoyed every minute of it.
"You never know what is going to happen in the future. To play a part in not maintaining that Premier League status hurts me, but I'm sure this club will be back in the future."
