Aston Villa have reportedly seen a £25m offer rejected by Southampton for midfielder James Ward-Prowse last week.
The Villans have been very active in the summer transfer window. They have smashed their transfer record by signing Emiliano Buendia from Norwich City in a £33m deal, whilst adding former winger Ashley Young on a free transfer from Inter Milan.
The Midlands club have also agreed on a £30m fee with Bayer Leverkusen for winger Leon Bailey, who is set to join Dean Smith’s side after undergoing a medical. They are poised to bring in more players with the £100m from skipper Jack Grealish’s potential sale to defending Premier League champions Manchester City.
According to Daily Mail, Aston Villa are preparing to make another bid for Southampton skipper James Ward-Prowse.
A product of the Southampton academy, Ward-Prowse, 26, made his senior debut back in 2011 and has now racked up over 320 competitive games for the south coast club. The central midfielder has been a consistent player for the Saints over the years and demonstrated his quality last season too, as he managed eight goals and as many assists in 38 Premier League games.
After starring for Southampton, Ward-Prowse came close to making the cut for the final 26-man England squad for Euro 2020 after being selected for the provisional squad.
James Ward-Prowse: How will he fit into Aston Villa’s starting XI?
Dean Smith will likely stick with the 4-2-3-1 that served him so well last season as they finished 11th in the Premier League, but could experiment with a 4-3-3 too with his new signings.
In Smith’s tried and tested 4-2-3-1, James Ward-Prowse could be used in a double-pivot with Douglas Luiz, providing John McGinn with the freedom to make penetrative runs into the opposition box and chip in with goals.
James Ward-Prowse, who has volumes of top-flight experience, would add energy, steel and creative edge to the Villa midfield, potentially making him a superb addition as an almost guaranteed starting central midfielder.
Should Smith tweak his system and go with 4-3-3, Luiz could act as a screen in front of the Aston Villa backline. James Ward-Prowse and McGinn as free 8’s would make Smith’s midfield more dynamic, allowing the duo to link well with Emi Buendia, Bertrand Traore and Ollie Watkins and cause the opposition defence plenty of problems.
One of Ward-Prowse’s biggest assets is his set-piece delivery and technique from dead-ball situations. He is extremely versatile and, as well as being capable of playing in central midfield or as an advanced midfielder on the right, he can do a job at right-back too when required—as seen for Southampton in the 2019/20 season.
In addition to possessing the right attributes to fit into this Villa side, Ward-Prowse’s leadership skills and top-flight experience could also prove beneficial. All in all, Aston Villa must do everything possible to get the Southampton star’s signature this summer.
