Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United would be sensible destinations for James Ward-Prowse if the free-kick specialist opts to leave Southampton, former Premier League hitman Darren Bent tells talkSPORT (26 April, 9.50am).
What do Ward-Prowse, Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips all have in common? Apart from their enviable collection of England caps, of course.
All three are homegrown midfielders living the dream after rising through the ranks at their beloved clubs. But, like Rice and Phillips, Southampton’s long-serving skipper may soon have a difficult decision to make.
Ward-Prowse is, after all, a player with Champions League potential, one who deserves better than to spend another season in the bottom half of England’s top-flight.
“I kind of feel like the type of club who should be in for that player is Newcastle. They’re in a rebuild,” explains former England striker Bent.
“(Would Ward-Prowse go to) Liverpool? No. Manchester City? No. Chelsea? No. Tottenham, why not? (Rodrigo) Bentancur, (Pierre-Emile) Hojbjerg and him. I think he’d suit them.
“Arsenal? Potentially, because (Granit) Xhaka looks like he’ll go at the end of the season. So maybe there’s an opportunity there.”
Will James Ward-Prowse stay at St Mary’s?
As you might have heard, Southampton’s number eight is a dab hand from a dead ball. In fact, only a certain Manchester United legend has scored more direct free-kick goals (18) than him in Premier League history (14).
Forget ‘Bend it like Beckham’, now it’s all about ‘Whip it like Ward-Prowse’.
And Bent believes that, if Ward-Prowse was to swap the South Coast for the North East, Kieran Trippier will quickly be relegated to decoy status.
“(He’s a) specialist. What he can do with a dead ball… top player,” Bent adds. “There’s levels. Trippier is brilliant but Ward-Prowse, you’re talking about second behind Beckham.”
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Of course, Southampton are not going to let their talismanic captain go without one hell of a fight. The Saints turned down a number of bids last summer – including a couple from Aston Villa – before tying Ward-Prowse down to a new five-year deal less than 12 months ago.
There is no reason to believe, as things stand, that Ward-Prowse will not be a Southampton player in 2022/23.
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