West Ham ready to abandon pursuit of £40m Southampton star

West Ham United are reportedly ready to abandon their pursuit of James Ward-Prowse due to Southampton’s huge transfer demands.

The Hammers have been looking to add two midfielders this summer following Declan Rice’s £105 million move to Arsenal.

They identified Ward-Prowse as an ideal target and made a £25m bid to sign him, but the offer was rejected by the Saints.

According to the Guardian, Southampton want around £40m fee to let the England international leave this summer.

The Hammers have no intention of meeting their valuation and are ready to drop their pursuit of the 28-year-old.

West Ham have yet to make a new signing in the 2023 summer transfer window despite the season starting in under two weeks.

There is tension between manager David Moyes and the club’s technical director Tim Steidten regarding this situation.

Moyes wants to bring in players with Premier League experience and has been unwilling to accept Steidten’s targets.

Ward-Prowse has been one of the most important players for the Saints since he broke into the first team in 2012-13.

Primarily operating in central midfield, he has made over 400 appearances in the last 11 years.

But he wants to leave Southampton after they were relegated from the English top flight at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

Football Today