Garth Crooks believes Liverpool should move for James Ward-Prowse. The Southampton midfielder is having a fine season.
Should Liverpool move for James Ward-Prowse? Garth Crooks thinks so, as he explained in his BBC column.
“It’s clear Georginio Wijnaldum is almost certain to leave Liverpool at the end of the season for Barcelona,” he wrote. “I can’t think of a better replacement than Ward-Prowse.”
Wijnaldum likely will leave, of course. We don’t know if that’ll be to Barcelona but he’s yet to agree to a new contract and his current one expires in June.
Liverpool would have to replace him, certainly.
What RTK has to say
Liverpool signing Ward-Prowse is an interesting idea. He’s a fantastic set-piece taker, for instance, and the team could benefit from that.
The Englishman’s raw numbers are good, too – six goals, give assists. No one turns their nose up at that.
He ticks some statistical boxes, too. Ward-Prowse is 11th for the most midfield presses in the Premier League this season, for instance.
He’s also top 25 for passes into the final third and top 20 for passes that create chances.
Ward-Prowse could come in as a solid pressing player, then, as well as someone who can pass between the lines and create chances. Liverpool wouldn’t turn their nose up at that.
Our issue, though, is that he’d almost certainly cost a fortune. Southampton get the most out of him and we wonder if their value would be equivalent to Liverpool’s.
Is Ward-Prowse a £60m or £70m player? We think he might be worth that to Southampton. We can’t see Liverpool getting that much out of him, however.
If he were younger than 26 and cheaper, Ward-Prowse would almost certainly be a good signing. As it is, we’re not sure.
There will be other, cheaper options available around Europe this summer and we imagine Liverpool will head in their direction.
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