There has been an intriguing update regarding West Ham United's interest in Southampton skipper, James Ward-Prowse...

What's the word?

As per ExWHUemployee (via the West Ham Way), the Englishman is a player that the Hammers are looking at, with the club set to make an offer for the 27-year-old this summer.

Providing an update on the situation regarding the player, the trusted insider stated that: "[James] Ward-Prowse [is] a target and an offer expected to go in".

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This follows reports earlier this month that David Moyes and co had the ten-cap international on their radar as they plot a new central midfield addition, albeit with Manchester United having also been credited with an interest.

Unreal addition

The arrival of the Saints captain would no doubt be a major coup for the London Stadium outfit, with the £28.8m-rated gem set to add undoubted Premier League quality to an already talented squad.

While largely famed for his set-piece acumen - with only David Beckham (18) having netted more than his tally of 14 top-flight free-kicks - the £100k-per-week midfielder has shown himself to be more than just a dead ball specialist.

In the 2021/22 campaign, the Portsmouth-born ace netted ten goals and provided a further five assists in 36 league outings, while also averaging 1.1 tackles, 1.1 interceptions and 1.1 clearances per game.

Compared to those in his position across Europe's top five leagues, Ward-Prowse - who has been dubbed "unreal" by presenter Joe Flemons - has also performed well, ranking in the top 10% for shot-creating actions, as well as in the top 8% for expected assists.

That all-round impact for Ralph Hasenhuttl's side illustrates that he has many strings to his bow other than just at set-pieces, although it is hard to argue that his biggest weapon is anything other than his delivery and precision from dead-ball situations, with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola dubbing him the "best free-kick taker" he has ever seen.

Irons' supporters can only imagine the damage and havoc that Moyes' side could cause with the playmaker whipping in corners and free-kicks for the likes of Tomas Soucek and Craig Dawson to attack, having already netted the fifth-most goals from set-pieces in the division in the recent campaign.

Although it may prove expensive to get a deal over the line - amid rumours of a £75m asking price - GSB simply must pull out all the stops to get their man.

IN other news, Cost £1.5m per goal: GSB made a colossal blunder on "strong" £40k-p/w West Ham flop