Aston Villa are reportedly preparing a swoop for Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse as we continue to look to strengthen the squad this summer.
The 26-year-old has firmly established himself as a key figure for the Saints, scoring nine goals and providing seven assists in 44 appearances last season.
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With seven caps for England to his name too, Ward-Prowse has emerged a real talent in recent years and his threat from set-pieces is one of his big strengths which is an area in which Villa have struggled.
According to The Guardian, Villa are set to make a move for the Southampton captain and it’s suggested that Dean Smith is eager to get deals done for their transfer targets as quickly as possible this summer.
Further details aren’t noted in the report in terms of whether or not Villa have made a bid and whether or not Southampton will even listen to offers for their talisman, but there seems to be interest and it will intriguing as to whether or not we step up our pursuit in the coming days and weeks.
The Guardian note that Villa are closing in on a club-record deal for Norwich City’s Emiliano Buendia who will add more quality to our attack, and it seems bringing in more quality and creativity in midfield is also on the Villa agenda ahead of next season.
This also comes back to the lack of cutting edge in the final third that we suffered with during Jack Grealish’s spell on the sidelines due to injury in the second half of last season, and so Ward-Prowse would help to address that while also bringing additional technical ability and composure on the ball in midfield.
Douglas Luiz, John McGinn, Morgan Sanson, Marvelous Nakamba and others will be battling for starting spots next season, and they could be set to face further competition if Villa can get a deal done for Ward-Prowse to follow up our swoop for Buendia in what would be an excellent double signing.