Newcastle United have earmarked relegation-threatened midfielder James Ward-Prowse as a potential summer signing and could be best placed to land the free-kick master.
James Ward-Prowse looks to be on his way out of Southampton as the south-coast club look destined for the drop this season despite a very impressive point against Arsenal last night.
While the England playmaker still has three years on his Southampton contract it’s understood that should the club fail to beat the drop Ward-Prowse would look for a move. Now a report in The Daily Mail has suggested that none of the so-called “big-six” have JWP on their radar leaving the door wide open for Newcastle.
Newcastle look like they’re in pole-position for James Ward-Prowse
The thinking seems to be that at 28 years old Ward-Prowse will be avoided by the Premier League‘s ‘elite’ in favour of younger targets. Newcastle themselves have a transfer policy which heavily favours younger players but it’s believed that Ward-Prowse is so highly regarded at the club that an exception could be made.
Newcastle are definitely looking for more midfield options and Ward-Prowse has more than proven himself at the top level. He’s played every minute in the Premier League for Southampton this season and is often a stand-out performer despite the club’s struggles.
Ward-Prowse is close to breaking David Beckham’s record
One area that everyone knows Ward-Prowse excels is from dead-balls with the England international just one free-kick goal away from equaling the Premier League record set by David Beckham. Newcastle already have an excellent option in Kieran Trippier, and to be honest, Fabian Schar isn’t too bad either, but Ward-Prowse is next level.
His work-rate is exceptional too, he never stops grafting for Southampton and that’s exactly the type of player Eddie Howe wants in the Newcastle engine room.
A figure of £50million has been suggested to take him away from Southampton which, for an English international with three years left on their contract does make sense in today’s market. Newcastle could try and negotiate that figure if the Saints go down, but I don’t expect there’ll be much wiggle room there.
Ward-Prowse is someone I’d love to see in a Toon shirt. He may not be the ‘sexiest’ player we’ve been linked with but not every player we sign needs to get the heart racing, there’s plenty of room in a top team for players who get the job done with minimal fuss. JWP fits that bill for me – until there’s a free-kick in a dangerous area, then he gets the BPMs rising.
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