Manchester United set to rival Manchester City for midfield star
Last Updated: May 1, 2022 7:35 pm
Manchester United and Manchester City are reportedly ready to fight it out over a massive £75 million move for Southampton midfielder James Ward Prowse this summer, according to the Daily Star.
The Saints captain, now 27 years old, is having a stellar season in Ralph Hassenhutl’s engine room, weighing in with 9 goals and 5 assists so far this term. He has become renowned for his set-piece delivery and now sits second, behind only David Beckham, in the number of free-kicks scored in the Premier League.
James Ward-Prowse in all competitions this season:
👕 38 games
⚽️ 10 goals
🅰️ 8 assistsSouthampton’s star. 😇⭐️ pic.twitter.com/jzRvMnA0Rf
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) April 30, 2022
On the fringes of the England squad under Gareth Southgate too, JWP is clearly in his prime, and it is something that the two Manchester Clubs apparently want to take advantage of, though they are not alone.
Six clubs involved as Manchester pair lead the way
As per the Daily Star, six clubs are tracking the midfielder, but the Manchester pair could be the far and away favourites to both attract the player, thought to be settled on the south coast, and also pay the sort of fee that would be required to prise him away.
‘Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle are all tracking developments closely, while Aston Villa failed with a £25m swoop last summer’, the report claims.
But, they add, the midfielder has interest from Manchester United, while Manchester City are big admirers too.
He has reportedly ‘been added to the Reds summer shopping as they search for two new central midfielders as part of their planned close-season overhaul. But that is set to bring them into direct competition with their local rivals as Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of the England international.’
A move to Manchester United would hand Ward-Prowse the best chance of regular game time, with City boasting a strong selection of central midfielders. But, at present, he is doing just fine at Southampton and is sure to have caught Southgate’s eye.
Read more:
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This article was edited by Josh Barker.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | AFC Bournemouth | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Arsenal FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Aston Villa | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Brentford FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Chelsea FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Crystal Palace | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Everton FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Fulham FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Leeds United | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Leicester City | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Liverpool FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Manchester City | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Manchester United | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Newcastle United | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Nottingham Forest | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Southampton FC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | West Ham United | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 23 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 23 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 18 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 17 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 16 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 15 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 15 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 15 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace | 14 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 13 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 12 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 12 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 12 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 11 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 11 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 11 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 11 |
| Pukki, Teemu | Norwich City | 11 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 11 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa | 11 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 11 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 10 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 11 |
| Firpo, Junior | Leeds United | 0 | 11 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 10 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 0 | 10 |
| Brownhill, Josh | Burnley FC | 0 | 10 |
| Bednarek, Jan | Southampton FC | 0 | 10 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 10 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 9 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 9 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 9 |
| Rudiger, Antonio | Chelsea FC | 0 | 9 |
| Mctominay, Scott | Manchester United | 0 | 9 |
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 0 | 8 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 0 | 8 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 7 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 7 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 12 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City | 11 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 10 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 10 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 10 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 9 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 9 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 9 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 9 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 8 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 8 |
| Kulusevski, Dejan | Tottenham Hotspur | 8 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 7 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Mbeumo, Bryan | Brentford FC | 7 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 6 |
