Southampton: Watford reportedly lodge bid for James Ward-Prowse

According to reports this afternoon, the Hornets are not only considering a move for the Southampton man, but have approached the club with a £10 million bid.

Granted, this report does come from the Sun, but it has made a lot of Saints fans think as to whether they would trade away the young Englishman if it meant they could invest further before Thursday’s transfer deadline.

It’s believed that new Watford boss Javi Garvia wants to bolster his midfield before the transfer deadline this week, and has identified the Southampton academy graduate as a possible target.

With it looking increasingly likely that Mark Hughes will deploy either a 3-4-2-1 or a 3-5-2 formation this season, JWP has been left without an obvious position to play, as he was used as a right-midfielder for much of the last campaign. As a result, it’s looking unlikely that he’ll get a massive amount of game-time having struggled to adapt to the right-wing-back role he was deployed at in pre-season.

Supporters have made their thoughts clear regarding the board’s ‘sell to buy’ policy which remains intact this summer, despite the fact that the club danced so close to relegation last time out. As a result, selling Cedric and entering the loan market have both been discussed as it appears that the club aren’t pursuing any further targets after all the Virgil van Dijk money was spent.

More from Saints Marching

• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 2: Arrivals
• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
• It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
• Rain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle
• A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse

Whilst the Saints have an abundance of centre-midfielders with six other players all capable of being used there, the club are dangerously thin out wide and up front despite it not looking like they will do much more business before the deadline.

Selling Ward-Prowse for the reported fee would give the club £20 million to play with as Dusan Tadic’s fee remains unspent, whilst a potential departure for Sam Gallagher would take that up to £25 million – more than enough to add a first-choice striker and a back-up right winger.

However the midfielder’s loyalty cannot be questioned – he’s been played it countless different positions and has never once complained about a lack of minutes. You need players with this kind of attitude among your ranks for when your stars are unavailable for selection.

However outside of his wicked dead-ball delivery, there’s no shame in admitting there isn’t a huge amount of variety in the 23-year-old’s locker, as he doesn’t possess a great deal of pace, strength or a notable work-rate.

As a result, as tough as it would be, parting ways with the academy graduate for the sake of adding more firepower may have to be the sacrifice the club have to pay, as it appears they are also concerned about squad size now they aren’t competing in the European competitions.