Southampton supporters will not be happy with what Danny Mills had to say about James Ward-Prowse, with the former Premier League player saying he does not see the hype around the central midfielder.
Ward-Prowse was recently named in the England squad for the Three Lions’ fixtures against Hungary, Germany and Italy over the next few weeks.
However, Mills has questioned whether he should even be a part of Gareth Southgate’s plans, saying on TalkSport: “I don’t always get the hype about James Ward-Prowse. Take the free-kicks out of it, I don’t get it. He’s a good player, he’s a good Premier League player – not 100% convinced he’s a top international. And I think that’s why he’s still at Southampton.
“And that’s not being disrespectful. If he was that good, teams would have come in and bid £30m, £40m, £50m, like they have for other players.”
TIF Thoughts on Mills’ comments about Ward-Prowse…
The £28.8m-valued 27-year-old has enjoyed arguably the best season of his career, having scored 11 goals and provided eight assists in all competitions. As per WhoScored, he has been the Saints’ best player in the league this term with a rating of 7.01, managing the best passing accuracy and the most key passes per game amongst his teammates, and even featuring highly in terms of shots per match.
At the end of the day, no other player in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad has matched his goals and assists output – yet he plays in central midfield. Mills glosses over Ward-Prowse’s set-piece ability, but that is a huge part of football and he actually offers much more than that anyway.
Will Ward-Prowse leave this summer?
Yes
No
He has 10 caps for England, so Gareth Southgate clearly values him. And in regards to the comments about interest from other clubs, Ward-Prowse may just be an anomaly in an era of football mercenaries – a player who has been happy to stay at St Mary’s even though he could play for a side with a higher chance of success.
With that in mind, Mills’ comments are probably unlikely to gain any support from the Saints faithful.