West Ham: Irons preparing offer for James Ward-Prowse

West Ham United are preparing an official offer to sign Southampton central midfielder James Ward-Prowse this summer, according to fresh reports.

Is James Ward-Prowse leaving Southampton?

The St. Mary’s academy graduate has been a hugely integral member of his squad over the course of his 409 senior appearances on the south coast, being made captain and named Russell Martin’s overall best-performing player last season with an average WhoScored match rating of 6.95.

With the Saints having suffered relegation from the Premier League, it’s likely that they will have to cash in on some of their prized assets to help rebuild their team, and the 28-year-old, you would expect, is the player to be at the top of the list of those being let go, and Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has backed this up.

Speaking on his Here We Go podcast, he said: “I think this is [a] typical deal for [the] final weeks of the transfer window or maybe for late July because, of course, he is a very good player and so there is some clubs who [will] decide to go for him.”

Earlier this month, Football Insider reported that the Irons saw a verbal proposal rejected by the England international, though it’s believed that this hasn’t put them off taking a second bite of the cherry by this time around tabling a serious financial offer.

Are West Ham signing James Ward-Prowse?

According to Football Insider once again, West Ham are set to “formalise their interest” in Ward-Prowse by submitting an “official bid” in the weeks ahead.

Southampton have placed a £40-50m price tag on their skipper’s head which is seen as a “sticking point” for David Moyes’ side, and whilst that fee is one that the club are “unwilling to pay”, it’s stated that chiefs “hope to get things moving” in the right direction with their incoming offer.

Whilst Ward-Prowse is naturally a central midfielder, West Ham will know that he is much stronger in the attacking aspect of his game having been dubbed “world-class” by his former manager Nathan Jones, so whilst £40m is a big sum, it’s one that would well be worth paying in order to secure his services this summer.

The Portsmouth-born talent clocked up 13 goal contributions (nine goals and four assists) in 38 Premier League matches last season so was not only prolific in the final third, but also more than helped to produce chances for his fellow teammates in the red and white stripes.

As per FBRef, Moyes’ target recorded a total of 241 crosses and 127 shot-creating actions over the course of the previous campaign which was more than any other member of his squad, showing his desire to get involved with the action at the top end of the pitch.

Finally, Ward-Prowse shares the same agent, CAA Stellar, as Gianluca Scamacca so this existing connection that his representative already has to the club could potentially hand them a small extra advantage when trying to get a deal across the line in the coming weeks.

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Inter Milan are ready to offer West Ham a fee of between £15.5 and £17.3million to sign striker Gianluca Scamacca, according to Sport Mediaset.

The Italian broadcaster reported online (24 July) that last season’s Champions League runners-up are in the market for a striker and have the funds necessary to offer West Ham a permanent deal for Scamacca.

Roma also have an interest in the striker, but can only offer a loan deal for the 24-year-old as they cannot afford an immediate transfer without selling players first.

West Ham and Roma have, however, in recent days discussed a loan with an obligation to buy, dependent on the Italian side qualifying for the Champions League.

Good deal

After such a disappointing season for Scamacca, West Ham would be better off cutting their losses and selling the out-of-favour striker on a permanent basis.

Even if they are able to strike an agreement with Roma over the condition of an obligation to buy, there is no guarantee Jose Mourinho’s side will qualify for the Champions League and if they don’t, the Hammers could be back to square one.

If Scamacca has another disappointing season next year, the striker will end up back in London and unhappy, and the East London club will need to find new suitors once again.

If Inter Milan are interested in a permanent transfer, this is an offer that the Hammers should accept so that they can get their misfiring striker off their books and move on, using the money from the transfer to reinvest in a new number nine.

Scamacca looks set to leave, and a permanent deal seems a far better solution.