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Southampton 2018/19 Player Review: James Ward-Prowse

By Ryan Borowski

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - APRIL 27: James Ward-Prowse of Southampton celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and AFC Bournemouth at St Mary's Stadium on April 27, 2019 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - APRIL 27: James Ward-Prowse of Southampton celebrates after scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and AFC Bournemouth at St Mary's Stadium on April 27, 2019 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) /
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Truly a tale of two halves for James Ward-Prowse at Southampton this season that included a national team call-up and a player of the month nominee.

Quite frankly, the season could not have started out much worse for the 24-year-old. He was very poor to start the season and supporters, including myself, wrote-off the one-time fan favorite academy boy.

I even wrote an article saying it was time for the club to move on from Ward-Prowse and that he will never be the player we thought he could be.

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – MARCH 09: James Ward-Prowse of Southampton celebrates after scoring his teams second goal during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary’s Stadium on March 09, 2019 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – MARCH 09: James Ward-Prowse of Southampton celebrates after scoring his teams second goal during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Tottenham Hotspur at St Mary’s Stadium on March 09, 2019 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /

Then Hasenhuttl happened and now I, and probably a few others, have to eat crow.

It was like night and day after the Austrian gave that chat we all heard about to the Englishman. He told James that everything was there, the skill, the talent, he just needed to be more aggressive.

He took that advice to heart and started playing hard-nosed football showing no fear or lack of confidence and we saw a player come out of his shell right in-front of our eyes.

He played in the middle of the pitch, as well as on the right-side when need be, but found the most success when he was in the middle of the park. All 7 of his goals came when he was playing as a central midfielder or central attacking midfielder.

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Oddly enough, the academy graduate did not collect an assist this season even though he averaged a career high in key passes per match. You cannot read too much into though because he cannot force his teammates to finish the chances he creates for them.

The 24-year-old did not just get it done on the offensive side of the ball but also defensively. He became a force to be reckoned with averaging 1.4 tackles per match, a career high.

He provided us with some electric moments this season with two of the most memorable goals this season, both coming on set-pieces, both against two of the best keepers in the league.

dark. Next. Southampton 2018/19 Player Review: Maya Yoshida

If this season was a preview of what he can do the rest of his career he will be just fine and will probably get a few more chances to wear the kit for England.