A major development has emerged in Aston Villa's pursuit of James Ward-Prowse, regarding his thoughts on a potential exit from Southampton.

What's the talk?

According to Football Insider, Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse is attracted to the prospect of joining Aston Villa this summer. The report claims that Ward-Prowse believes a transfer to Villa would represent a step up in his career.

Villa are in the market for an experienced Premier League midfielder and are looking at Ward-Prowse as a potential signing. It remains to be seen how much money Southampton would demand for their captain.

After receiving Southampton's Player of the Year award, Ward-Prowse was hailed as “outstanding” by his manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, who also labelled his achievement of playing every minute as unbelievable. He told the Daily Echo: 

“It’s not surprising for me, a player who played every minute this season is unbelievable.

“His physicality and his performances are outstanding. That’s our captain on the pitch and he is on the way that he is a very important player for this club for the long term, I think.”

Fans will be fuming

Southampton fans will be fuming with this latest development as it does not bode well for the Saints heading into the rest of the window. Ward-Prowse could watch other players get big-money moves and then decide that he needs to do something to push himself to the fore in terms of a transfer if he is as eager to join Villa as the report suggests.

That's not to say that Ward-Prowse will throw his toys out of the pram or submit a transfer request to the club, though. It could be that Ward-Prowse just makes it clear to Martin Semmens and Ralph Hasenhuttl that he would like to leave if a reasonable offer comes in. Should the English midfielder do that then it could be difficult for the Saints to demand an unrealistic amount of money for him, as they would be aware of his wishes and how he could react if they deny him a transfer.

The Saints' dynamo leaving the club would be a huge blow for Hasenhuttl. As previously mentioned, he was named Southampton's Player of the Year for the 2020/21 campaign and this alone highlights his importance to the side.

His departure would leave a gigantic hole to fill in the middle of the park and fans would be furious if Ward-Prowse forces his way out of the club to sign for Aston Villa, leaving Saints needing to find a replacement for him.

AND in other news, Mane 2.0: Southampton must seal swoop for “special" £14k-p/w ace, Ralph would love it...