Insider ExWHUEmployee has revealed that James Ward-Prowse is one of David Moyes' "favourite players" ahead of a possible West Ham United transfer.

What is the latest West Ham transfer news?

It seems more than likely that the Hammers will be forced into the market to sign a new midfielder when the season comes to an end.

After all, it is expected that club captain Declan Rice will be sold to a Premier League rival with Arsenal widely tipped as the favourites for now.

The good news, though, is that this could bring in as much as £120m for the Irons to use on finding his replacement.

And while speaking about all this on The West Ham Way Podcast, Ex suggested that Moyes may be keen on signing Southampton midfielder Ward-Prowse.

He said: “Ward-Prowse is one of Moyes’ favourite players. He would offer us set pieces, [he's a] captain, all the things we need.

"We need a replacement [for Rice]. Obviously, Southampton got relegated as well. So that would give us a chance of signing him.”

How many free-kicks has Ward-Prowse scored?

Ward-Prowse certainly ticks a lot of boxes. After all, he has been club captain at Southampton since 2020 and so could help provide some leadership within the West Ham squad which will be impacted when Rice departs.

What's more, he's also got one brilliant skill that the current star midfielder doesn't have. Indeed, that is free-kicks.

After all, only David Beckham has scored more free-kicks in the Premier League than Ward-Prowse who has 17 in 328 games – which also shows how much experience he has in the top-flight.

Already on £100k-p/w with a contract that runs until 2026, it won't be a cheap deal if West Ham are to land the 28-year-old.

However, they may be helped by the fact that Southampton have been relegated and so will likely have to sell their best talent and potentially at a discounted price.

Regarding Rice's sale, manager Moyes has told the press: “If you are interested, well, it will be north of that.

"£100m was cheap last summer. £150m just now would be minimum but he is not for sale.

“What I do know is that it means there are only certain clubs that could even consider it.”

With that being the case, even if Ward-Prowse costs more than anticipated, money shouldn't be an issue for the Hammers this summer.