West Ham are working to complete £32m deal for Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse this weekend
West Ham are reportedly working to conclude a deal for Southampton skipper James Ward-Prowse.
The Hammers have been pursuing the Saints star, with the Championship side rejecting numerous advances from David Moyes‘ side so far during the summer transfer window.
The Europa Conference League champions had a £25million bid for the England international turned away, with their latest offer for the midfielder increased to £27m plus a further £3m in add-ons.
Mail Sport understands that talks took place on Tuesday afternoon, and a deal could happen as long as the asking price of around £32m is met by the Hammers.
Sources close to the deal insist that the deal is not done yet, although all parties are working to conclude a deal by the weekend.
As such, Saturday’s Championship clash with Norwich at the weekend could be Ward-Prowse’s last in red and white.
The set-piece specialist was not in the squad for the Saints’ dismal 3-1 defeat to League Two Gillingham on Tuesday night, with Liverpool target Romeo Lavia also absent.
The Hammers are also in pursuit of Manchester United pair Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay, with Moyes hopeful of a double raid of his former club.
However, Mail Sport understands that the Hammers are still short of United’s valuations of both McTominay and Maguire, although Moyes would still like to sign both players as well as Ward-Prowse.
A move for Fulham’s Joao Palhinha has also not been ruled out, although the player’s injury – and £60m price tag – are thought to be deterrents with West Ham also admirers of Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana.
There had been unrest at West Ham over a lack of transfer activity, although Moyes and Co have now agreed a £34m fee for Ajax’s Edson Alvarez, as they look to spend some of the £105m made from the sale of Declan Rice.
Ward-Prowse has spent his entire professional career at Southampton, having graduated from the club’s academy.
In his 13-year stay at St. Mary’s the 28-year-old has gone on to play 410 games, scoring 55 goals and providing 54 assists.
READ MORE
West Ham United are working to conclude a deal to sign James Ward-Prowse from Southampton as soon as possible.
Southampton are keen for the 28-year-old midfielder to play against Norwich on Saturday but there is now an increasing likelihood that will be his final game for the club.
Leave a Reply