West Ham launch £25m offer for Southampton star

James Ward-Prowse has been on their radar for some time – and they have finally launched a formal bid for him.

•  West Ham have made a bid of around £25m for James Ward-Prowse.
•  This is unlikely to satisfy Southampton, who are seeking £40m for the midfielder.
•  Ward-Prowse still has three years left on his contract, allowing the Saints to hold out for a higher fee.
• West Ham United have launched a bid worth roughly £25m for Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse, according to The Telegraph.

  The midfielder was one of a few Saints players who arguably didn’t deserve to be relegated at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, with the player recording nine goals and four assists in 38 league appearances.

• Not only was he a real threat in the final third, with his set pieces proving to be a game-changer, but he was also reliable and appeared in every single one of his current side’s league games last season.

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  Will West Ham’s offer for James Ward-Prowse satisfy Southampton?

  It would be difficult to see the Saints being impressed with the offer that has been launched because the two sides’ valuations of the player seem to be quite far apart at this point.

  The relegated club are keen to secure £40m for the midfielder and with Martin’s side arguably under no pressure to cash in on the player at this stage, it may take a while for a compromise to be found.

  To make matters more difficult for David Moyes’ side, the Saints would prefer a straight cash offer and this means they may not be able to include some of their players in a potential swap deal to lower the amount they have to pay.

  The Hammers should be able to increase their bid despite offering £40m for Chelsea’s Connor Gallagher – because Declan Rice departed in a deal believed to be in the region of £105m.

  How long does James Ward-Prowse have left on his contract at Southampton?

  This is key because this is a big reason why the Saints are able to take such a strong stance on their skipper.

  At this stage, the player still has three years left on his contract after seeing him put pen to paper on a five-year deal back in 2021.

  With this in mind, Martin’s side can afford to keep him for at least another year without risking the possibility of losing him for free, something that would be a crushing blow for the south-coast side considering how much he is currently worth.

  What stance should Southampton take on this £25m offer from West Ham

  £25m is a poor bid considering the fact he still has a very decent amount of time left on his contract.

  Leicester City were able to generate around £40m each from the sales of Harvey Barnes and James Maddison and the Saints should certainly be looking to hold out for that type of fee.

  Even if they don’t end up selling him, they could cash in on one or two other key players if the relegated side want to give Martin as much as possible to spend.

  Romeo Lavia is worth a huge amount, Tino Livramento could leave for an eye-watering amount and there isn’t a shortage of interest in Che Adams either at this stage.

  His contract situation and their ability to cash in on other players means interested side West Ham will need to cough up a huge fee for the midfielder and if they aren’t prepared to, they need to be looking at other targets.He has also appeared fo

• current side in pre-season, playing against Reading on Saturday afternoon with the player remaining a key part of Russell Martin’s plans at this stage despite the speculation surrounding his future.