James Ward-Prowse is closing on his Hall of Fame recognition and Southampton have been hinted that it could leave them devastated.
Most of the Southampton fans might have missed this point, but Simon Rusk's Saints are set to meet a familiar face in James Ward-Prowse. The latter has been a Southampton icon through and through and the whole idea of him leaving St. Mary's used to be a laughable one a couple of years ago.
In spite of that, Ward-Prowse is on the brink of squaring off with Southampton for the first time ever in the coming days. As gloomy as it feels upon hearing as a Southampton fan, West Ham are prepared to land an uneven advantage by deploying Ward-Prowse as their difference-maker.
Now, the entire English footballing landscape is aware of Ward-Prowse's free-kick mettle which stands as a compliment to Southampton.
Southampton will want to see a delayed Ward-Prowse milestone
But the Saints haven't imagined being on the receiving end of the 30-year-old's masterpiece moments. Sadly, the Hammers are aware of that and are resting their winning hopes on Ward-Prowse's shoulders.
Recently, their coach Graham Potter weighed in on this idea and didn't shy away from wanting Ward-Prowse to earn his Hall of Fame status on Saturday.
In the lead up to the match, the Daily Echo quoted Potter's admiration for Ward-Prowse's free-kick figures: "James will be the first to say it's not about him and the record, although we hope that he can get it. It would be nice for us if there was a bit of football karma and he gets it on Saturday against Southampton."
In case you don't know, Ward-Prowse is staring at the Premier League's free-kick milestone where a single moment of brilliance will jointly place him at the pinnacle. The set-piece specialist came agonizingly close to achieving this honour at Southampton but now that remaining strike could well be against the Saints itself.
If that turns into reality, Southampton fans will face a strange dilemma. Whether they should express joy for Ward-Prowse or worry about the club's spoiled party, if Southampton does seem to be winning at any stage of the game.