Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly taking an interest in Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse.
Now at the age of 28, Ward-Prowse has become one of the longest-serving one-club players currently in English football, spending his entire career at St Mary's.
Since coming through the youth ranks at the Saints, Ward-Prowse has chipped in with 53 goals and 51 assists from 402 appearances, a return which has also earned him 11 caps with England.
However, while the playmaker recently extended his contract until 2026, that does not necessarily mean that he will remain at Southampton for that period.
The South Coast outfit currently find themselves at the bottom of the Premier League standings, four points adrift of safety with seven matches remaining.
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Head coach Ruben Selles has also witnessed his side lose four of their most recent five fixtures, and it has left the Southampton hierarchy to consider their options ahead of the summer transfer window.
According to talkSPORT, Ward-Prowse has been told that he will be made available for transfer if Southampton lose their position in the top flight.
Southampton would be in a position where they would need to quickly generate funds and reduce their wage bill, with Ward-Prowse deemed to be their most prized asset.
The report claims that Newcastle and Spurs would contemplating whether to make a formal approach for Ward-Prowse should such a scenario arise over the coming months.
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Both teams are bidding to qualify for the Champions League, and it would come as a surprise if some level of European football is not on their schedule for 2023-24.
While Newcastle are relatively well stocked for options in the centre of the pitch, they failed to replace Jonjo Shelvey in January and will rectify that during the off-season.
Spurs also need to strengthen due to the long-term injury to Rodrigo Bentancur, while there may be a need for the North London outfit to boost their homegrown numbers.
West Ham United have also been credited with an interest in Ward-Prowse at a time when they may cash in on Declan Rice, regardless of whether they remain in the Premier League or not.
Darren Plant
