Surprising in the swiftness of its resolution compared to several transfers this summer, West Ham United have been reported as agreeing a sale – not a loan – to take their Nuno cast-off away from the club and back to Southampton.
Which will be something of a relief for James Ward Prowse who has seen his career essentially stagnate over the last season since Graham Potter left the club.
An ever present under Potter, Ward prowess days were numbered as soon as Nuno was appointed. The NY Times are reporting this afternoon that an agreement has been reached to send Ward Prowse back to the club at which the spent twenty years:
“Southampton have reached an agreement in principle to sign James Ward-Prowse from West Ham United.
Going.. going.. almost gone.. James Ward Prowse
The Athletic reported yesterday that Southampton were exploring a move to re-sign Ward-Prowse from West Ham and have now reached an agreement that would see them pay a nominal fee to sign the midfielder.
Ward-Prowse, 31, left Southampton in 2023 following their relegation from the Premier League. During his three-year stay at West Ham, he had loans at Nottingham Forest and Burnley.”
A nominal fee means the Hammers are in for another whopping £12 million loss on the balance sheet (allowing for amortisation) after JWP’s £30 million move just three years ago.
Best to draw a veil over another hugely unsatisfactory transfer and breathe a sigh of relief that his £50k week is off the books.
how stupid selling a player to a promotion rival
Best time to wash through all the losses with all the big profits made on Fernandes, Summerville, Potts and now Diouf. I see we are in for Michael Keane. Makes sense, but the lack of any major investment this summer, apart from Engels, is very telling. Let us hope that the ownership issues are resolved sooner rather than later and certainly before the January window.
Did we over pay for him
No wonder Southampton have signed him back for under a million, it is a no brainier for him.
Let’s just hope we never go through buying players well over priced in the first place.
It might be why we are being so cautious, but we do need to get some players in.
Nice to see an out-of-favour player still being professional, not whining to the media, keeping fit, training hard and being ready to play when needed.
It’s not his fault if his style doesn’t suit our manager.
He did his best bless him but those days are long gone also i think we over paid for him
I am more interested in how many other players Nuno has sidelined that no longer want to play for us I can’t help but wonder if HE is the reason three quaters of the team want to leave Because they cannot play for him
How do you get a twelve million loss? He was on a four year not five. If the fee was thirty million that suggests a book value of seven and a half million, not twelve.
What about Harwood-Bellis?