West Ham: James Ward-Prowse is the perfect replacement for Declan Rice and represents shrewd transfer business | Football News

The James Ward-Prowse swing was back in all its glory last weekend. Not the dead-ball swing – although that’s famous too – but the golf swing celebration he displays whenever scoring a goal.

The occasion marked Ward-Prowse’s maiden strike for West Ham, just two games into his new London venture, having ended a 20-year association with Southampton a few weeks prior.

The finish wasn’t textbook Ward-Prowse. There was no David Beckham-esque whip from a set-piece situation. But it was symptomatic of a player set to thrive in his new surroundings, more than capable of filling some rather substantially sized boots, which used to belong to Declan Rice.

With more than a hint of promise, Ward-Prowse has been involved in three goals in two starts so far (one goal, two assists), while his overall league tally stands at seven goal contributions in his last six appearances (including for Saints). A tidy return.

Someone alert Gareth Southgate, please.

Sky Sports delves a little deeper into what makes Ward-Prowse the perfect Rice replacement, despite being overlooked for England, and how his versatility can power a much-improved domestic campaign at the London Stadium.

Savviest summer business?

Rice has made a wonderful start at Arsenal, no one is disputing that. But there is a shared feeling among a pool of Sky Sports’ writers concerning the merits of midfield successor Ward-Prowse – and his less fashionable but equally productive style.

For some time, Ward-Prowse has ranked highly among the Premier League’s best central midfielders. His stats speak for themselves. Yet, the lack of clamour for, and subsequent interest in his services, did not tally with those stats this summer.

Rice to Arsenal always felt well-matched. But as Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City all continue to chase midfielders, either from Premier League competitors or European leagues, it feels as if an opportunity was missed – for a snip of the price.

Owing, presumably, to Southampton’s relegation to the Championship, West Ham were able to pick Ward-Prowse up for a fraction of what Chelsea paid for Moises Caicedo (£115m), or Liverpool paid for Dominik Szoboszlai (£60m), for example. Alexis Mac Allister’s fee is likely to rise to £55m. Enzo Fernandez cost the Blues £106m in January. Romeo Lavia – Ward-Prowse’s midfield partner at Saints – was bought by Chelsea for £53m.

That’s not to detract from any of the obvious qualities of the players named, nor their potential to make big impacts at their respective clubs, but the question still stands – why has Ward-Prowse been overlooked by the Premier League’s top teams?

The former Saints captain cost the Hammers £30m – modest by comparison. For that price, David Moyes is gaining a player with proven Premier League pedigree, experience, leadership, running power – the list goes on. And let’s not forget that unrivalled dead ball technique. Ward-Prowse’s set-piece delivery is better than any other player currently serving in the English top flight, perhaps even the world.

Maybe it’s Ward-Prowse’s defensive mettle, then? Can’t be. Ward-Prowse covered a chart-topping 433km last season – beating Pascal Gross (419km) and Rice (413km), while performing well in ball recoveries and possessions won in the middle third. For context, the 28-year-old also ran further than any other player in 2019/20 and 2021/22.

Creativity? Again, the output is solid. Ward-Prowse struck the first of West Ham’s three blows as Moyes’ side swept aside Brighton 3-1 to climb to the top of the Premier League last weekend, albeit briefly.

He’s already registered two assists for his new team – as many as Mo Salah, Phil Foden or James Maddison this term. All the early signs are positive, and are merely a continuation of his obvious efficiencies. In what turned out to be his final Southampton hurrah, Ward-Prowse was responsible for 25 per cent of Saints’ goal tally, from defensive midfield.

The box-to-box type, with a powerful engine, a creative eye and unrivalled set-piece ability – all for £30m. Can’t be bad.

Crafty yet creative

This wasn’t a flashy purchase, clearly. For all of Ward-Prowse’s gold standards, there are drawbacks, as with any player nearing their 30s. But they aren’t obvious.

As stipulated, Ward-Prowse covers more distance and plays more minutes than nearly all rivals. It’s the triumph of a model professional who prides himself on absolute dedication and commitment.

A public bid had already been made for Southampton’s poster boy when he lined up in what turned out to be the final game for his boyhood club. Saints boss Russell Martin trusted him to play the full 90 minutes against Sheffield Wednesday in early August regardless, knowing talks were progressing rapidly for his exit. Ward-Prowse, undeterred, performed as if more focused than ever.

Besides, it’s nothing less than he would have wanted – to say a grand farewell to the club he joined as an eight-year-old. Predictably, his cutback found Che Adams for the winner in the 87th minute – a fitting note to end on.

Fast forward to his West Ham debut, a few weeks later, and it was business as usual. The fact Ward-Prowse actually upstaged Chelsea’s £222m midfield double act, one who missed a penalty (Enzo Fernandez) and one who conceded one (Moises Caicedo), neatly sums up the case.

Fernandez’s 109 attempted passes eclipsed Ward-Prowse’s 23, but the latter’s influence on the game was far more telling. That day, Ward-Prowse became the first player to provide two assists on a Premier League debut for West Ham – it was his 25th set-play assist since making his competition debut in 2012, only Christian Eriksen (29) has more.

“His character is very similar to Declan Rice,” Moyes professed. And he’s every bit the player West Ham need him to be, albeit four years more senior than his predecessor, but with the same tenacious work ethic and arguably more craft.

JWP built for West Ham

Ward-Prowse is a perfect fit for West Ham. Why?

Firstly, the Hammers have travelled faster upfield than any other team this season, clocking 2.26 metres per second during open-play sequences. That’s considerably faster than the next team on the list: Manchester United with 1.81m/s.

David Moyes’ side also ranked third in this metric last term with their counter-attack style, typically bursting from the blocks in transition to utilise pacy wingers Jarrod Bowen or Said Benrahma – or breaching defensive lines for Michail Antonio to chase.

That threat on the break is achieved from sitting deeper. Indeed, no team has sat back more than West Ham this season, with their average starting position for open-play passing sequences registering at a league-low 35.1m from their own goal line.

Rice certainly helped West Ham advance up the pitch during his time at the club. In fact, their former captain ran 3,828m upfield with the ball at his feet last season – only Antonee Robinson, Lewis Dunk and Rodri exceeded that distance.

Ward-Prowse clocked just over 1,000m for Southampton in this metric during that campaign – so he does not drive forward as much on the ball – but he passes instead. Arguably, that faster transition suits the Hammers’ style of play even more.

The heat maps below reveal how Ward-Prowse is typically deployed far deeper than Rice to provide more protection and counter threat from deep – with Rice increasingly moving into more advanced areas during recent seasons.

However, Ward-Prowse’s deeper role does not affect his attacking output. In fact, the set-piece specialist soars clear of Rice in every key attacking metric – revealing a far broader range of threat than just his ability from dead balls.

But, of course, his ability from set-pieces is arguably unrivalled in the Premier League – and this also suits West Ham.

West Ham registered 15.1 expected goals from set-plays last season – only Newcastle, Everton and Liverpool registered higher numbers. Additionally, the team won 623 aerials – only Brentford won more.

So, West Ham’s customary aerial threat, coupled with their strength at set-pieces and their counter-attack style from deep are all boosted significantly with Ward-Prowse in the side.

Finally, Ward-Prowse is in a league of his own when it comes to work-rate. As mentioned, the 28-year-old covered a league-topping 433km last season – beating Pascal Gross (419km) and Rice (413km). That distance equates to running more than 10 marathons or two return trips between St Mary’s and the London Stadium, as the crow flies.

He also ran further than any other player in 2019/20 and 2021/22, when Tomas Soucek ranked second in that list.

In fact, Soucek is the only player to have clocked more distance than Ward-Prowse during a campaign over the past three years, having topped the list in 2020/21 – and now they’re team-mates.

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