West Ham United are still on the lookout for Declan Rice's midfield replacement, two weeks on from their captain departing for Arsenal in a British-record deal.
Who are West Ham signing to replace Declan Rice?
David Moyes' side have been linked with countless midfielders in the weeks before and since Rice's exit, namely Fulham's Joao Palhinha, Everton's Amadou Onana and Juventus' Denis Zakaria.
Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse is another name that refuses to go away, even if the England international is not strictly a like-for-like replacement for Rice in terms of their playing style.
According to The Guardian, West Ham are looking to bring in two midfielders with the windfall they received through Rice's sale, and have now stepped up their interest in Ward-Prowse.
How many free-kicks has James Ward-Prowse scored?
Southampton are said to value Ward-Prowse in the region of £40m, which is a large fee on the face of it considering the Saints were relegated to the Championship last season.
The 28-year-old boasts plenty of Premier League experience, however, having played 343 times at that level since making his Southampton debut in the competition on the opening day of the 2012/13 season.
Ward-Prowse has also played 11 times for England – though not since last year – and has scored a couple of goals in heavy wins over Andorra and San Marino in 2021.
With nine goals and four assists in a poor Southampton side last season, Ward-Prowse ranks in the top 13% of all midfielders across Europe's top five leagues for goals scored, as per The Analyst.
The Portsmouth native is also in the top 15% for chances created, showing that he is more than capable of doing a job in the Premier League, even if he was captain of a relegated side last time out.
Three of those nine goals were scored via direct free-kicks – the most of any player in the Premier League last season. Indeed, only Manchester United legend David Beckham (18) has scored more than Ward-Prowse in the competition's history.
That ability to both score and pick out a team-mate from set-pieces would be a major asset for Moyes, and would also bring back memories of fan favourite – at the time, at least – Dimitri Payet.
Payet has scored 14 direct free-kicks in his career, as per Transfermarkt, six of those during his 18 months at West Ham.
Indeed, after a run of netting via that method for club and country in 2016, Payet revealed he had stopped practising them on the training ground as there was no way to further improve his technique.
It is not too dissimilar in the case of Ward-Prowse, with former Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl previously hailing the midfielder as a "quality" player whose set-piece prowess was – and is, for now – "such a good weapon" for the Saints.
That is not the only similarity between the two players, either. Taking Payet's only full season at West Ham in 2015/16 and potentially Ward-Prowse's final season with Southampton last time out into account, the pair each scored nine Premier League goals.
The only notable difference is in attitude, with Ward-Prowse very much a team player. While he may not be able to replace Rice on his own, the Englishman can at least bring a bit of the past back to the London Stadium should he arrive.
