James Ward-Prowse may be the best set-piece taker in the whole of the Premier League, Southampton teammate Jannik Vestergaard tells Goal.com.
Forget ‘bend it like Beckham’, it’s all about ‘whip it like Ward-Prowse’ these days.
The Southampton number eight might not be quite as prolific as ‘Golden Balls’ from dead-ball situations, but the buzz of expectation that hangs in the air every time ‘JWP’ sets his sights speaks volumes.
Ward-Prowse’s deliveries, from corners or free-kicks, are all-but unstoppable at times, delivered with such speed, curve and precision that goalkeepers and defenders are left resorting to prayer.
And Vestergaard, whose one and only Saints goal came following a trademark swing of Ward-Prowse’s right boot, believes there may be no one in England capable of matching the 25-year-old when it comes to putting the ball on a sixpence.
“What an engine Ward-Prowse has got! It just never runs out of fuel during games – he is so hard-working for the team. His direct free-kicks are not matched by many – if by anyone – in the Premier League,” says the former Werder Bremen and Borussia Monchengladbach defender.
Ward-Prowse, of course, is not the only Southampton star in the form of his life under Ralph Hasenhuttl.
Danny Ings has also forced his way into the England reckoning and, with three goals in four games this season already, the one-time Liverpool bench-warmer appears to become more clinical and ruthless by the year.
“Ings got so close to the top scorer title of the Premier League last season. That is an amazing achievement playing for a team who were not in the top six,” Vestergaard adds.
“I am always madly impressed by his nose for goals – he can sniff them up out of nothing. He is an amazing player to have in your team – and a fantastic person as well.”
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