Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
Garth Crooks claims James Ward-Prowse would be a great target for Liverpool
Garth Crooks has urged Liverpool to consider signing James Ward-Prowse from Premier League rivals Southampton, who he feels would be a great fit at Anfield.
Ward-Prowse, 26, is the club captain at St Mary’s and has racked up over 300 senior appearances for the Saints since breaking into the first team from the academy.
He is an all-action central midfielder with a great work-rate and defensive discipline when needed.
Additionally, he’s one of the best set-piece takers in the entire Premier League and has incredible technique with the ball at his feet.
BBC pundit Crooks has suggested that Ward-Prowse could be a great Liverpool replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum, who as it stands is out of contract at Anfield this summer.
“It’s clear Georginio Wijnaldum is almost certain to leave Liverpool at the end of the season for Barcelona. I can’t think of a better replacement than Ward-Prowse,” Crooks told
Ward-Prowse has received plenty of praise of the years and it’s worth noting he’s earned four senior England caps so far.
Ex-Liverpool forward Peter Crouch was someone who waxed lyrical about him earlier this season, describing his “deadly” threat from set-pieces.
“Their performance was typified by the captain. He was magnificent,” Crouch told Match of the Day 2 (1 November, 2020), as quoted by The Boot Room.
“We know how deadly he is from set-pieces. It’s just undefendable at times. But I thought his all-round game was good, his energy and his enthusiasm.”
TBR’s View:
If Wijnaldum does exit Merseyside in the summer, he’s going to leave a sizeable gap in the Reds XI.
It looks like Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp might need a couple of fresh faces in his squad going into next year, which is why they should be searching already for potential targets.
Ward-Prowse is a leader in the Southampton ranks and looks like he’s got the qualities to make the step up in his career, but he’s still under contract until 2025.
A key for any Liverpool midfielder in Klopp’s system is high energy, something Ward-Prowse has in abundance.