da aposte e ganhe： It feels like James Ward-Prowse has been around for many more years than he actually has been because of how long he has been in and around the Southampton first team and with his involvement for England at youth level, but he only turned 23 years of age back in November.
da blaze casino： While Saints have been renowned for bringing youngsters likes Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Luke Shaw and Calum Chambers through from their academy and into the side in recent years, before they have moved on to pastures new, the same can’t be said of Ward-Prowse who has failed to attract interest from the bigger clubs in the Premier League.
The midfielder has made 195 appearances in all competitions for the south coast outfit since making his debut as a 16-year-old in a League Cup tie against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in October 2011, but he has failed to fully unlock the potential he looks to have at his fingertips.
He has never put in the consistent performances for his team that would firstly see him be a regular fixture in the starting XI, and subsequently catch the attentions of the top six sides in the Premier League to perhaps give him an opportunity to leave St Mary’s like so many of his old teammates have in the past.
One of the main issues for Ward-Prowse has been that all of the managers he has played under – Nigel Adkins, Mauricio Pochettino, Ronald Koeman, Claude Puel and now Mauricio Pellegrino – have failed to integrate him into the club;s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, as they have struggled to find a position for him where he can really shine.
The 23-year-old ideally prefers to play in a central midfield role – as he often did when he captained the England U21 side previously – but that has often not been possible for Southampton in the Premier League because of the presence of the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin, Victor Wanyama, Oriol Romeu and club captain Steven Davis in the team over the years.
Ward-Prowse has also been trialled in the No 10 role behind the striker – like in the 2-0 defeat against Watford at St Mary’s earlier in the campaign – and it was a failed experiment with the midfielder not having the creative eye or turn of pace that is probably required to be a success there.
The Portsmouth-born star is known for his decent delivery and his set-piece ability though, and in that respect he has often been deployed on the right side of the 4-2-3-1 system by Puel and then Pellegrino this season, with four goals and four assists in 30 Premier League appearances under the Frenchman last term earning him his first call-up to Gareth Southgate’s full England squad in March 2017, as he picked up his first cap as a substitute against Germany.
Like many of his teammates on the south coast, the 23-year-old lost form towards the end of the 2016/17 campaign – he failed to score or assist in his final seven top flight outings of the season – and he only started three of their opening 12 Premier League games under current boss Pellegrino this term, ending the match as an unused substitute in three of those.
It looked as though it was going to be another disappointing campaign for Ward-Prowse, but things finally started to go his way in December and into 2018, with a tireless and selfless performance out wide helping Saints pick up a much-needed goalless draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford on December 30.
The midfielder then scored the winning goal in his side’s 1-0 win against Fulham in the third round of the FA Cup at Craven Cottage, before he followed that up with a brace in the 2-2 draw at Watford a week later.
The 23-year-old had always been known for his danger from set-pieces, but now he was making a real impact in the final third too with not one of those three goals coming from direct free-kicks.
However, they are of course still important and Jack Stephens netted the equaliser from when he guided Ward-Prowse’s delivery into the net against Brighton and Hove Albion, while the pair also combined in Southampton’s latest 3-2 win against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns last weekend, when Stephens head home his teammate’s corner.
The midfielder then went one better when Wesley Hoedt and Mario Lemina intervened as Sofiane Boufal looked to take a free-kick away from him, and the Englishman duly curled low into the corner past Ben Foster for what proved to be the winning goal.
Ward-Prowse is currently undroppable and that is something that hasn’t been said very often during his Southampton career.
He is consistently making an impact from open play – as well as from set-pieces – which Saints fans haven’t seen before, and he is proving to be an influential figure on the pitch because of his work rate as the south coast outfit look to avoid being involved in a relegation battle in the coming weeks and months.
One thing is for sure, with England lacking options and quality in midfield areas in general, if the 23-year-old maintains his current form then he will force himself back into the England squad prior to the World Cup this summer, and perhaps even book himself on the flight to Russia.