West Ham set to increase offer for Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse after seeing £20m bid REJECTED as Irons eye Declan Rice replacement

West Ham will increase their offer for Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse after their bid of £17million plus £3million in add-ons was rejected. 

The Hammers are in the market for a new midfielder this summer after selling Declan Rice to Arsenal for a club record £105million fee.

Ward-Prowse has been identified as one of the priority signings this summer, but their offer, which totalled £20million, was deemed too little for the Saints captain.

West Ham were considering loaning Flynn Downes to Southampton to lower the fee of Ward-Prowse, but the Saints are not interested in this as they want a straight cash deal. 

Therefore, the Irons will return with an improved bid for the England international this summer.

West Ham will increase their offer for Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse

David Moyes has identified the midfielder as a key target to replace Declan Rice this summer

The Irons considered offering Flynn Downes in a deal for Ward-Prowse, but the Saints said no

Furthermore, Southampton are signing former Arsenal defender Zach Awe, 19.

The defender was released by Arsenal after last season and is available for free, with Russell Martin’s side making their move for another young player. 

The central defender could be seen as a potential replacement for Mohammed Salisu, who is being heavily linked with a departure.

Salisu has interest from Fulham, despite their signing of Calvin Bassey, and is also attracting attention from AS Monaco. 

It remaisn to be seen as to where his future lies, while Ward-Prowse and Romeo Lavia are also targets of big moves to the Premier League this summer.