The Saints boss has been a revelation at St Mary’s Stadium since his arrival, with several Southampton players showing considerable improvement.
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has spoken highly of James Ward-Prowse, admitting he is happy that there was no transfer speculation doing rounds about him as he would be “always interesting” for a Premier League top club, in conversation with the Daily Mail.
The midfielder has gone from strength to strength since Ralph Hasenhuttl joined the Saints after Mark Hughes’ departure in December, scoring seven goals in the league last season, all of which came after the Austrian had been appointed
.
According to a report from the Daily Echo, Ward-Prowse was apparently looking to leave Southampton last summer as he struggled to force his way into Hughes’s plans at St Mary’s, but like other members of the team – Nathan Redmond, for example – it’s a good job he stayed considering how much he has developed over the past few months.
Arsenal and England legend Martin Keown spoke to Hasenhuttl as part of a Daily Mail interview with James Restall and he asked the Austrian how he developed Ward-Prowse, who like Redmond was described as “unrecognisable” following the manager’s arrival on the south coast.
“With Prowsey, he is a fantastic football player but against the ball he was not sharp enough,” said Hasenhuttl. “He is physically unbelievably good. He can play three games a week, 90 minutes, without a problem. I am very happy there were no rumours about him this summer. A player like him, for a top-six club in England, is always interesting.”
Ward-Prowse has made 234 appearances for the Saints’ senior team, scoring 19 goals and registering 28 assists, and is valued at £16.2million, according to Transfermarkt.
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