David Moyes is keen to take Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse to West Ham
The 27-year-old Saints captain and England star is one of the most impressive dead ball specialists in the Premier League. He also has admirers at Newcastle.
Ward-Prowse has steadily enhanced his reputation with a string of impressive displays in recent seasons. They have helped him to force his way into Gareth Southgate’s thinking. Ward-Prowse played the whole of England’s 0-0 draw with Italy last Saturday evening at Molineux and has already been praised by former Hammers coach Stuart Pearce who believes Ward-Prowse has had "the best year of his career."
Moyes is looking to revamp the West Ham midfield following the retirement of Mark Noble and with uncertainty around the future of Tomas Soucek. Sought-after Declan Rice is set to remain at the club this summer, despite his refusal to sign a new deal.
But Moyes wants to add fresh quality and is prioritising players who are Premier League-ready. Ward-Prowse ended the past season with a personal best return of ten top flight goals and five assists and is hoping to be a part of England's World Cup squad.
Meanwhile Moyes is also weighing up whether to go back in for Sevilla forward Yousef En-Nesyri after seeing a £27million bid rejected in January of last year. The Spanish club sought as much as £40million at the time.
Moroccan international En-Nesyri, 25, had come off the back of a superb season, hitting 23 goals for his club at the time.
Over the past campaign, however, Sevilla have seen El-Nesyri’s form dip massively with just five La Liga goals in 10 months. Injuries and Covid are believed to have contributed to the dip and Sevilla are understood to be ready to cash in on him.
It is now 18 months since West Ham last had an orthodox striker after Sebastien Haller was sold to Ajax in January 2021.
Michail Antonio, a right wing-back converted into a forward, has held the fort but although he finished the season strongly with three goals in six matches, they were his first goals since he netted against Southampton in the FA Cup in January.
Moyes accepts West Ham were undone by a lack of depth last season after falling at the semi-final in the Europa League and missing out on the Premier League’s top four. West Ham finished seventh in the table and are set to make changes to ensure their momentum of the last two seasons does not drop away.
