James Ward-Prowse would make several team of the weeks for his classy midfield showing against Lincoln City.
The overall Southampton team performance was underwhelming, as Lincoln could have secured a win during the competitive 1-1 draw, but the ageing midfielder would still finish the match at Sincil Bank with a standout six key passes next to his name.
He will likely be kept in the starting XI later on today, as Tonda Eckert's men clash with Swansea City, as the hosts try to win the intense midfield battle, with the Swans' midfield praised a lot this season for being so energetic and tenacious.
Ward-Prowse, as he gets more used to his familiar, yet brand-new surroundings, will be hoping he can form some fantastic partnerships with the talented set of teammates he's been exposed to, with the iconic number 30 bouncing off Oriel Romeu very well during the first patch of his lengthy Saints career.
Ward-Prowse's fantastic partnership with Romeu
The one-time West Ham United ace played alongside various legendary Southampton players during his first 410-game spell, with Ward-Prowse lining up alongside centre-back great Jose Fonte 124 times in total.
Additionally, he would amass 99 games alongside another stylish midfield star, Dusan Tadic, but it was Romeu who would be his regular comrade in the midfield ranks over the years.
Romeu and Ward-Prowse would line up in Saints red and white together a weighty 216 times, with Ralph Hasenhuttl noting in 2022, that the duo shared a "blind understanding" together.
Ward-Prowse's top five Saints teammates (most games played together):
Teammate | Games played together |
|---|---|
1. Nathan Redmond | 224 |
2. Oriel Romeu | 216 |
3. Ryan Bertrand | 197 |
4. Shane Long | 186 |
5. Jan Bednarek | 165 |
While Ward-Prowse would roam further forward and collect goals and assists for fun, his Spanish counterpart would perform all the necessary dirty work as the more defensive component of the partnership.
As Hasenhuttl further observed, Romeu would do all "the work nobody wants to do" effortlessly, with his "remarkable defensive discipline" - as the Saints club website stated in 2022 - allowing the free-kick king to "express himself."
It was such a rock-solid collaboration that the South Coast giants would regularly finish in the higher reaches of the Premier League when Romeu and Ward-Prowse were the trusty core.
Unfortunately, their final season together would end in the heartbreak of relegation, but in the Championship right now, the returning icon could have a new Romeu he can fall back on, as Eckert and Co. hunt down promotion.
He could have his new Romeu
Flynn Downes, at this current point in time, sticks out as the most obvious Romeu-style performer in Eckert's promotion-chasing group.
Indeed, on average this season already, he has won 6.6 duels per Championship clash, with a valiant six duels won last time out against the combative Imps allowing Ward-Prowse to push forward and dictate play with six key passes then accumulated.
Against Birmingham City, the ex-Swansea machine was even more brutal and resolute with his tackles and duels won, ending the 1-1 draw at St. Andrew's with ten won in total.
If he brings this same energy to the clash tonight against his ex-employers, Ward-Prowse should be able to have the freedom to unlock a very stern defence, as the pair - who very rarely find themselves out of the team through injury - begin to form an intimdating alliance centrally.
Like Romeu, Downes is the sort of individual you only truly appreciate when he's out of the side, as he is fully committed to the cause for the full 90 minutes, even if he slides under the radar.
Daily Echo journalist Alfie House has openly gone out of his way - like Hasenhuttl had previously done with the sprightly Spaniard - to note how quietly important he is, stating that Downes is arguably "most important player" in the entire Saints set-up.
Eckert will know he needs the likes of Cyle Larin and Leo Scienza to be firing on all cylinders for promotion to be sealed, but midfield partnerships have been crucial in the past at Southampton as they hit the dizzy heights of the Premier League, with Downes working well alongside Will Smallbone when Russell Martin was in the dug-out.
Now, he has the opportunity to become Ward-Prowse's modern day Romeu, as the duo are likely selected again tonight against the table toppers from Wales.
A central midfield trio could even be selected, as the aforementioned House has speculated, with Cameron Bragg potentially thrown in alongside the experienced duo.
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