Director opens door for Newcastle to sign £40m captain but West Ham lead chase

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Southampton has confirmed that James Ward-Prowse may be allowed to leave with Premier League outfit West Ham United reportedly leading the chase for the £40 million England international. 

Rasmus Ankersen, the Saints’ director of football, nicknames the homegrown academy graduate ‘Mr Southampton’ in his interview with The Times. 

Cut James Ward-Prowse and he bleeds red-and-white, and all that. But how far does his loyalty go? With his 29^th birthday only a few months away – and with the European Championships looming – would Ward-Prowse really countenance a season in the second-tier with West Ham among those offering him a route back into the top flight? 

Is James Ward-Prowse leaving Southampton after relegation?

The Sun believe that David Moyes’ Conference League finalists are currently in pole position; Ward-Prowse expected to cost around £40 million. 

Ankersen has not given up hope of retaining a player who, if he wasn’t a dyed-in-the-wool, born-and-raised Southampton fanatic, would probably have packed his bags already. But nor is the director ruling out cashing in on a man who is just one trademark curler away from matching David Beckham’s free-kick record in the Premier League. 

“Of course, we would love to keep him!” Ankersen explains. “He is Mr Southampton. He’s done amazing things. He will be in demand.  

“If there is something that comes up that satisfies the club financially and satisfies James then, out of respect, we will have to have that conversation.”

According to the Daily Mail, Tottenham Hotspur watched Ward-Prowse during a recent top-flight clash between Southampton and Newcastle United. Eddie Howe’s Champions League-bound Magpies is another potential destination; a creative midfielder high on Newcastle’s wishlist amid links with James Maddison, Conor Gallagher, Gabri Veiga and Dominik Szoboszlai. 

“If he can play Champions League football next season, then that would be great for him,” adds Southampton owner Dragan Solak. “We have to see who will approach us.”