James Ward-Prowse

[Wurzel]

23 minutes ago, Chez said:

There is an underestimation of players desire to play in the top flight. JWP has played in the Prem his whole career. He regards himself as a Premiership player. He is pretty big name and has no reason to play in the Championship. It's `beneath' him at this point in his career if truth be told.

 

I also don't think JWP will require a move to a `top' club. Fulham came 10th last season. They may not be a glamour side, but neither were we. Obviously he will want to go to the best side possible, but if the money was right, I'm guessing it wasn't at Brentford, I'd of thought he would be interested in a move to almost any Prem side. I am not sure playing in Europe is the be all and end all. Playing in the Prem is more important than the Europa League.  

Fulham came 10th last season...... and Leicester came 8th the season before. Means nothing. The way the rich clubs cherry pick the best of any team who look remotely like threatening their status qou (as they did to us when we had the nerve to finish amongst them) anyone outside those 7 could end up going down at any time.

JWP probably has to weigh up 3 options.  Squad player  at one of the big clubs, regular starter at one of the others but face the prospect of a possible second relegation (probably argue that Villa would be safe next season but wouldn't put money on anyone else), or sticking with us and possibly getting back up to the top next year.  If I was him I'd stick with us for one more year and see what happens, then push for a move if we don't go straight back up.

Of course if he's only interested by the money then any club could probably sway him, but he doesn't seem that type.

[verlaine1979]

He's only got a couple of years left at the top of his game. I wouldn't waste one in the championship if I were him.

[pimpin4rizeal]

4 hours ago, verlaine1979 said:

He's only got a couple of years left at the top of his game. I wouldn't waste one in the championship if I were him.

I think if I were him the free kick record would probably be the biggest draw in returning to the prem a chance to put yourself in the record books and be a talking point for the next ten years or more 

[John B]

23 hours ago, Ken Tone said:

He's a better player than Hojberg and he was good enough for spurs. They're not even a really top club 

Don't understand the constant running down of JWP on here. 

I find your reply a trifling baffling surely Spurs a team which has finished 8th 4th 7th 6th 4th 3rd 2nd 3rd 5th 6th in the PL is not a top team.

 

I have never run down JWP who is decent PL player who scores fantastic free kick goals but is not a top class PL player and will unlikely be playing regularly next season in a team like Spurs

[iansums]

4 minutes ago, John B said:

I find your reply a trifling baffling surely Spurs a team which has finished 8th 4th 7th 6th 4th 3rd 2nd 3rd 5th 6th in the PL is not a top team.

 

I have never run down JWP who is decent PL player who scores fantastic free kick goals but is not a top class PL player and will unlikely be playing regularly next season in a team like Spurs

So baffling that you agree with him?

[Chez]

7 hours ago, John B said:

I find your reply a trifling baffling surely Spurs a team which has finished 8th 4th 7th 6th 4th 3rd 2nd 3rd 5th 6th in the PL is not a top team.

 

I have never run down JWP who is decent PL player who scores fantastic free kick goals but is not a top class PL player and will unlikely be playing regularly next season in a team like Spurs

It's a top 8 team. A team that plays in Europe most years. A team that made the CL final. A team with a billion pound stadium. 

Hoj off to Athletico possibly. Maybe a space opening up?

Liverpool signing Dominik Sziboslai (midfielder from RB Leipzig). A space disappears.

 

Edited 30 June, 2023 by Chez

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

Seen a couple of reports saying an imminent bid is incoming from the wet spam for..... ahem... £20m

[Sussex_saint]

1 minute ago, Golac's Cunning Stunts said:

Seen a couple of reports saying an imminent bid is incoming from the wet spam for..... ahem... £20m

No chance! If he goes for less than 30 mil I'll shit myself 

[Golac's Cunning Stunts]

West Ham 'expected to bid £20 million' for James Ward-Prowse

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/23646213.west-ham-expected-bid-20-million-james-ward-prowse/

[HarvSFC]

All these low ball bids. £20m doesn't get you a lot these days. Just about covers an Onuachu, or Vestergaard, but not a Sulemana. 

[Barsiem]

It's an opening bid - they're always too low. Suspect it'll get to £30m and we'll take it.  Tbh I think that's a fair price for him 

[revolution saint]

20M + Flynn Downes?  I could see us negotiating something around that kind of deal.

[SaintsFan86]

£23Million, 5 Million add ons plus Flynn downes. And West ham will probably stick 10% sell on clause too.

Is my guess.

[Turkish]

30 minutes ago, HarvSFC said:

All these low ball bids. £20m doesn't get you a lot these days. Just about covers an Onuachu, or Vestergaard, but not a Sulemana. 

West Ham appear to be another club cut from the same cloth as us that only do deals when they want on their terms. 

[teamsaint]

9 minutes ago, Barsiem said:

It's an opening bid - they're always too low. Suspect it'll get to £30m and we'll take it.  Tbh I think that's a fair price for him 

It will be an opening bid, but even given that, it is a pretty insultingly low bid, that is unlikely to impress JWP, unless they are offering astronomical wages.

[Barsiem]

Just now, teamsaint said:

It will be an opening bid, but even given that, it is a pretty insultingly low bid, that is unlikely to impress JWP, unless they are offering astronomical wages.

Why would JWP care what they bid??  

[egg]

1 hour ago, Sussex_saint said:

No chance! If he goes for less than 30 mil I'll shit myself 

This could get messy for you. 

[Charlie Wayman]

6 minutes ago, Barsiem said:

Why would JWP care what they bid??  

Because he is a bloody good Clubman that's why and will not want to see Saints ripped off by a bunch of wide boy Eastenders who know the value of nothing and want everything for nothing. Too old at 28 my arse! They've got £100m to play FFS!

Anyway, there's no hurry, if we are top of the league at the end of August, James might think he has a better and more lucrative future here. 

Let 'em wait, let 'em sweat. They'll crack first.

[Saint Garrett]

1 hour ago, Golac's Cunning Stunts said:

West Ham 'expected to bid £20 million' for James Ward-Prowse

https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/23646213.west-ham-expected-bid-20-million-james-ward-prowse/

Would be a disgrace. Not sure he’d be worth selling at anywhere near that price. He could be worth a fortune to us next season assuming he is relatively happy staying, which from what I hear it wouldn’t be a problem. 

[Toussaint]

14 minutes ago, Saint Garrett said:

Would be a disgrace. Not sure he’d be worth selling at anywhere near that price. He could be worth a fortune to us next season assuming he is relatively happy staying, which from what I hear it wouldn’t be a problem. 

Please expand…. This has the potential to lift my Monday mood greatly 

[hypochondriac]

Does anyone actually have an itk on Jwp and his thoughts? I'm surprised we have got this far into the window with no indication at all about whether he'd actually consider staying. 

[Saint86]

46 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Does anyone actually have an itk on Jwp and his thoughts? I'm surprised we have got this far into the window with no indication at all about whether he'd actually consider staying. 

Its academic Hypo, he isn't leaving this window😏. He might go in January or next summer depending on how the season goes - But for now i remain firmly as convinced as Fareham that he's going o be playing for saints come October. Only way that changes if someone gets desperate and offers silly money/wages.

Edited 10 July, 2023 by Saint86

[Jonnyboy]

I heard solid goss last week that JWP recently completed on a large house in the Hampshire countryside so probably not headed too far from here, if anywhere at all.

Edited 10 July, 2023 by Jonnyboy

[Saint Garrett]

50 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Does anyone actually have an itk on Jwp and his thoughts? I'm surprised we have got this far into the window with no indication at all about whether he'd actually consider staying. 

I have a good mate who knows him and sees him quite a bit. It’s obviously not something they talk about much, if at all really as it’s none of his business, but what I’ve been told is that the club will let him leave if it’s worthwhile for the club, but he wouldn’t kick up a fuss to leave. He absolutely loves the club, and the area, and he’s very much settled. But obviously if it’s too good to turn down then he would probably go, (the likes of the top clubs). I don’t see him going to a Fulham or a Brentford. West Ham there is a draw because of the Europa League, but doubt the club would consider selling at the prices being quoted anyway, 

[Ex Lion Tamer]

The thing is I wonder if JWP's wages are so big, even after the relegation cut, that we may need to get him off the wage bill. With him being 29 this year and never the paciest to start with, we may take a lowish bid. £30m does sound right but if we haven't shifted him by the end of the window, who knows

[hypochondriac]

26 minutes ago, Saint Garrett said:

I have a good mate who knows him and sees him quite a bit. It’s obviously not something they talk about much, if at all really as it’s none of his business, but what I’ve been told is that the club will let him leave if it’s worthwhile for the club, but he wouldn’t kick up a fuss to leave. He absolutely loves the club, and the area, and he’s very much settled. But obviously if it’s too good to turn down then he would probably go, (the likes of the top clubs). I don’t see him going to a Fulham or a Brentford. West Ham there is a draw because of the Europa League, but doubt the club would consider selling at the prices being quoted anyway, 

If he leaves because the club tell him to go when he's open to staying I'll be pretty pissed. Him staying in the championship would be huge. 

[Dusic]

I still think its extremely likely he will leave as soon as a PL club puts in a decent offer.

All players want to play in the PL, particularly in a tournament year and he would also get a big pay increase to negate his likely relegation cut.

I would imagine the shambles of the last couple of seasons has pissed him off quite a bit too...

[Dark Munster]

36 minutes ago, Ex Lion Tamer said:

The thing is I wonder if JWP's wages are so big, even after the relegation cut, that we may need to get him off the wage bill. With him being 29 this year and never the paciest to start with, we may take a lowish bid. £30m does sound right but if we haven't shifted him by the end of the window, who knows

If him staying is the difference between going up or not, then one year of his high wages would be worth every penny.

[egg]

24 minutes ago, Dusic said:

I still think its extremely likely he will leave as soon as a PL club puts in a decent offer.

All players want to play in the PL, particularly in a tournament year and he would also get a big pay increase to negate his likely relegation cut.

I would imagine the shambles of the last couple of seasons has pissed him off quite a bit too...

The issue for him is finding a club who'll actually play him, and pay us a decent fee. There aren't many options, and if the only taker is West Ham, they'll undoubtedly low ball us knowing there are no other chasers. I think he'll go, but I don't think he he'll get a whole lot of football anywhere else, and we won't get the kind of fee many on here are expecting. 

[Ex Lion Tamer]

5 minutes ago, Dark Munster said:

If him staying is the difference between going up or not, then one year of his high wages would be worth every penny.

You can say that about so many things but if we didn't get promoted then it would be very bad news. We have to make sensible financial decisions and do enough to get promoted at the same time

[Ex Lion Tamer]

That said, if the ownership feel they can afford to keep JWP then all good. I just wouldn't hold it against them if they need to sell

[Dark Munster]

2 minutes ago, Ex Lion Tamer said:

You can say that about so many things but if we didn't get promoted then it would be very bad news. We have to make sensible financial decisions and do enough to get promoted at the same time

The difference between him staying and going is probably no more that £5m in wages, so hardly a huge gamble.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

1 minute ago, Dark Munster said:

The difference between him staying and going is probably no more that £5m in wages, so hardly a huge gamble.

Plus a £25m-£30m transfer fee and all the other club costs we need to cover

Edited 10 July, 2023 by Ex Lion Tamer

[hypochondriac]

4 minutes ago, Ex Lion Tamer said:

Plus a £25m-£30m transfer fee and all the other club costs we need to cover

We have loads of saleable assets that aren't jwp. I'd sell kwp, ABK and Salisu before I sold him. 

[LaptopSaint]

44 minutes ago, Dusic said:

I still think its extremely likely he will leave as soon as a PL club puts in a decent offer.

All players want to play in the PL, particularly in a tournament year and he would also get a big pay increase to negate his likely relegation cut.

I would imagine the shambles of the last couple of seasons has pissed him off quite a bit too...

The chances of JWP going to the Euros are very low, whether he's in the PL or the Championship. I'm sure he's figured out that Southgate rates him a bit, but doesn't rate him enough. And with the U21s winning their Euros there will be others like Palmer Elliott and Jones knocking at the door even if the seniors get an injury or two. Better to stay with us and be a legend. And break the PL free kick record in the 24-25 season at St Marys. 

[hypochondriac]

5 minutes ago, LaptopSaint said:

The chances of JWP going to the Euros are very low, whether he's in the PL or the Championship. I'm sure he's figured out that Southgate rates him a bit, but doesn't rate him enough. And with the U21s winning their Euros there will be others like Palmer Elliott and Jones knocking at the door even if the seniors get an injury or two. Better to stay with us and be a legend. And break the PL free kick record in the 24-25 season at St Marys. 

I'm not just saying this but I would genuinely stay if I were making the choice unless a real top team came in for me. If he captained us to promotion he'd be a legend in Southampton for the rest of his life. Money can't give you that. I suppose it depends what he values but he strikes me as the type of person who'd be attracted by that. I'm still leaning towards him maybe staying, one of the biggest reasons being that Adam Blackmore has spoken about the possibility and there's no way he hasn't had a cheeky chat with him off the record. 

[Sergei Gotsmanov]

12 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

I'm not just saying this but I would genuinely stay if I were making the choice unless a real top team came in for me. If he captained us to promotion he'd be a legend in Southampton for the rest of his life. Money can't give you that. I suppose it depends what he values but he strikes me as the type of person who'd be attracted by that. I'm still leaning towards him maybe staying, one of the biggest reasons being that Adam Blackmore has spoken about the possibility and there's no way he hasn't had a cheeky chat with him off the record. 

So true. I never understand why players move to 'win medals' - I would far rather be a local legend. Harry Kane is one example - why would he even think about leaving Tottenham when he is on the verge of being a genuine Spurs legend. But he would not be many people's phone a friend if they was on who wants to be a millionaire while JWP is bright and he will no doubt be conscious of this. 

[egg]

27 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

I'm not just saying this but I would genuinely stay if I were making the choice unless a real top team came in for me. If he captained us to promotion he'd be a legend in Southampton for the rest of his life. Money can't give you that. I suppose it depends what he values but he strikes me as the type of person who'd be attracted by that. I'm still leaning towards him maybe staying, one of the biggest reasons being that Adam Blackmore has spoken about the possibility and there's no way he hasn't had a cheeky chat with him off the record. 

Legend status won't give him and his family a great life in the 50+ years after he hangs up his boots though. Cash will. 

Let's see what happens, but if he's only going to be a bit part player somewhere else, and/or other clubs are only willing to pay derisory money, he could well stay until the next window. 

It's going to be an interesting window. 

[Pwoite]

2 hours ago, Saint Garrett said:

I have a good mate who knows him and sees him quite a bit. It’s obviously not something they talk about much, if at all really as it’s none of his business, but what I’ve been told is that the club will let him leave if it’s worthwhile for the club, but he wouldn’t kick up a fuss to leave. He absolutely loves the club, and the area, and he’s very much settled. But obviously if it’s too good to turn down then he would probably go, (the likes of the top clubs). I don’t see him going to a Fulham or a Brentford. West Ham there is a draw because of the Europa League, but doubt the club would consider selling at the prices being quoted anyway, 

The one, huge, disadvantage of WHU is that the he will be taking the position of Declan Rice, a fans' hero, and unless he plays as well as the English midfielder, the crowd will be on his back. Without Rice, West Ham aren't that great a squad, and their recent season partially proved that. A few back results and the fans will be baying for blood, and if could be James'.

[HarvSFC]

A more limited player in Mark Noble said this after his retirement: "when I look back now and I see the send off I got and the loyalty I’d shown to the club and the history I’ve created… an extra few grand a week doesn’t compare to that."

Perhaps he never got that life changing top offer, but he did stay with West Ham after they got relegated. Hopefully Ward-Prowse has a similar mindset. Can immortalise himself at Southampton, in a similar way that Benali has done, or leave and be forgotten about by his new club a few months after retiring. 

[hypochondriac]

28 minutes ago, Sergei Gotsmanov said:

So true. I never understand why players move to 'win medals' - I would far rather be a local legend. Harry Kane is one example - why would he even think about leaving Tottenham when he is on the verge of being a genuine Spurs legend. But he would not be many people's phone a friend if they was on who wants to be a millionaire while JWP is bright and he will no doubt be conscious of this. 

Kane has the chance to go to a tip team and win leagues. It's not the same choice that jwp has. 

[hypochondriac]

14 minutes ago, egg said:

Legend status won't give him and his family a great life in the 50+ years after he hangs up his boots though. Cash will. 

Let's see what happens, but if he's only going to be a bit part player somewhere else, and/or other clubs are only willing to pay derisory money, he could well stay until the next window. 

It's going to be an interesting window. 

Obviously but it's not really a choice between 0 and thousands is it. He's already a multi millionaire. 

[ErwinK1961]

18 minutes ago, egg said:

Legend status won't give him and his family a great life in the 50+ years after he hangs up his boots though. Cash will. 

Let's see what happens, but if he's only going to be a bit part player somewhere else, and/or other clubs are only willing to pay derisory money, he could well stay until the next window. 

It's going to be an interesting window. 

Yeah, £60k a week gets you fck all these days.

[egg]

Just now, ErwinK1961 said:

Yeah, £60k a week gets you fck all these days.

Ha! £120k a week gets you a lot more. If he's offered an extra £1m + per year over the next few years, and a chance to play in the PL, it's inevitable he'd jump at it. 

[Andrew Watson]

How the hell does money come into it, JWP is a sensible guy who is almost certainly a multi millionaire. All this nonsense about a last big pay day,thats the trouble when most premier league players have never lived in the real world.

[revolution saint]

I think he goes and probably to West Ham. They’ve been the most consistently linked and the first bid is just the start of the dance. We’ll have a few weeks of back and forth and maybe we’ll get Flynn Downes in return but I don’t hold out much hope that JWP will stay.
My only concern is we extract as much as we can for him and that enables us to perhaps keep hold of players like Alcaraz, Tella, Tino, and Sulemana. 

[Bad Wolf]

8 minutes ago, Andrew Watson said:

How the hell does money come into it, JWP is a sensible guy who is almost certainly a multi millionaire. All this nonsense about a last big pay day,thats the trouble when most premier league players have never lived in the real world.

Erm...

[hypochondriac]

23 minutes ago, revolution saint said:

I think he goes and probably to West Ham. They’ve been the most consistently linked and the first bid is just the start of the dance. We’ll have a few weeks of back and forth and maybe we’ll get Flynn Downes in return but I don’t hold out much hope that JWP will stay.
My only concern is we extract as much as we can for him and that enables us to perhaps keep hold of players like Alcaraz, Tella, Tino, and Sulemana. 

Yes I agree this is most likely. I was basing my replies on the bit from @Saint Garrettabout knowing someone who is his mate and him being open to staying. 

[Sergei Gotsmanov]

1 hour ago, hypochondriac said:

Kane has the chance to go to a tip team and win leagues. It's not the same choice that jwp has. 

But what I am saying is that Kane has the chance to be a legend at Spurs and that should outweigh winning medals. Sadly I never had that chance to play for Saints but I would have stayed at Saints for the chance to be a local legend. It is a different decision when you are 22 but at 29 then it is more pronounced to just see your career out with the club you love. I often think that if my son was at Saints and had the chance to go to Chelsea and earn three times the wages at a young age then I would probably, albeit reluctantly think it was the right thing to do but at 29 I would tell him to stay. 

Edited 10 July, 2023 by Sergei Gotsmanov

[Maggie May]

I think a lot of you need to take off the rose tinted specs and come to terms with JWP leaving. I think Villa will nab him and a lot of players will be attracted to Emery’s philosophy.