According to media reports from London, James Ward Prowse is being deemed surplus to requirements at West Ham and could be allowed to leave this summer, but will Southampton be one of those queueing up.
southamptonfcnews are reporting that James Ward Prowse will be allowed to leave the London Stadium this summer.
Ward Prowse left Saints just over a year ago for around £30 million as he sought to boost his chances of playing for England in the Euros.
It would be churlish to suggest that last season did not go well for JWP at the Hammers, he started 34 of the 38 Premier League games, plus another 3 off the bench, the only game he missed was the opening Premier League fixture for the East London club, having only just signed.
But this season he finds himself under a different manager after the departure of David Moyes and it seems that new boss Julen Lopetegui, does not really fancy him, Ward Prowse had to sit out all but the final 16 minutes on the bench in the Hammers 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
So what next for James Ward Prowse, will he be content as it seems Danny Ings is, to be a fringe player but keep his high salary or will he want to play football.
Turning 30 in November and under contract to West Ham for another 3 years, I would imagine he would find it difficult to find another club willing to pay a big fee for him and match his current salary, so a loan option could be in the offing.
So the big question is whether Saints should be in for James Ward Prowse, personally I would say yes, we should consider getting him in on loan, although we had plenty of the ball on Saturday at Newcastle, we struggled to create clear cut chances against a side parking the bus, we need someone who can deliver the ball, both from set pieces and in open play.