At the risk of sounding repetitive, we need to talk about James…
The amount of column inches being dedicated to Ward-Prowse currently should tell you everything you need to know about how well the Portsmouth born midfielder is performing currently. This site has been waxing lyrical about the 24 year old in recent weeks after a series of fantastic performances at the heart of Southampton’s midfield.
Under the stewardship of Ralph Hasenhuttl, Ward Prowse has progressed from barely getting in the match day squad to the first name on the sheet. With 6 league goals in his last 9 appearances, he is undoubtedly the form player in the Premier League and given the quality of several of the goals in question, it feels like he is on his own personal mission to outdo himself with every effort.
As with the goal against United at Old Trafford last week, the free-kick which ultimately proved to the winner against Spurs was a delectable strike, which curled in bewitching fashion over the wall into the top left hand corner of Hugo Lloris’ goal. That being said, to focus solely on his goals would do his all round play an injustice.
With the controlled aggression which is a recent addition to his game, it is no exaggeration to say that Ward-Prowse was everywhere against Tottenham. Gareth Southgate is due to announce his England squad for the forthcoming internationals and it would be a travesty if Ward-Prowse is not given a chance to add to his solitary cap for the Three Lions.
As Danny Ings slowly approaches a return, it is imperative that Ward-Prowse continues his run of good form and his supply of goals could be integral to Southampton’s survival. If you had told a Southampton fan that at the start of the season that Ward-Prowse would be the key player, they would not have believed you. Football eh? It’s a funny old game.