Aston Villa enjoyed a successful summer in the transfer window, as Unai Emery and Monchi navigated the direction of the funds to welcome five new faces to Villa Park.
The Spanish duo broke the club’s record transfer fee in the process, securing their primary target in Moussa Diaby for a price of £51.9m from Bayer Leverkusen.
Youri Tielemans, Pau Torres, Nicolo Zaniolo and Clement Lenglet also made the Midlands their new homes, with all five of Villa’s acquisitions having the potential to make a significant improvement to the squad.
Despite capturing the signatures of the new arrivals, Emery and Monchi were linked with a host of other names, with some deals not prevailing that could have made the side even better.
From Jadon Sancho to Ansu Fati, the Villans were named as a club interested in some of the best talents in Europe, with one player signing for an alternative Premier League side in a deal that has seen him flourish in his new surroundings.
West Ham United signed James Ward-Prowse after weeks of speculation over his future and now that the Englishman has made a fast start to life in the capital, Emery will be dwelling on the player he could have had.
Did Aston Villa nearly sign James Ward-Prowse?
Following Southampton’s relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, the future of Ward-Prowse became one of the main talking points of the transfer window.
Back in May, prior to the opening of the window, the Daily Mail reported that the former Saints captain did not have a relegation release clause embedded into his contract, with Villa named as one of the clubs eyeing his movements.
It wasn’t the first time that the Midlands side had hoped to sign the midfielder, with Dean Smith having a £25m bid rejected for the set-piece specialist back in the summer of 2021.
It was West Ham who sealed the deal for the 28-year-old, paying a fee of £30m to Southampton just weeks after walking away from negotiations, signing the Saints star on a four-year contract to end his 20-year association at St Mary’s.
This summer was the moment for Villa to step up and capture the signature of Ward-Prowse, however, it just wasn’t meant to be as the Villans took on fellow relegation-suffering star Youri Tielemans from Leicester City.
What is James Ward-Prowse’s market value?
There was a lot of talk surrounding Ward-Prowse’s next destination after the Mail reported that Saints had put a mammoth £50m price tag on the Englishman’s head this summer.
At the point of such talk, Football Transfers recorded the Portsmouth-born ace’s expected transfer value (xTV) at €39.3m (£34m), making the south coast club’s valuation of their captain a little high for interested clubs to consider without discussion.
Taking into consideration the importance of the individual to Saints at the time, along with the fact he signed a five-year extension with the club in 2021, it’s clear to see why Southampton placed such a price on the midfielder at that moment.
£30m was the price that the Hammers managed to haggle the Englishman for, in what was a superb deal considering that his market value was an accurate measure of the figure paid at the time.
Fast forward to now, and the Irons maestro has a current xTV of €31.1m (£26.9m), highlighting that David Moyes got his man at the right time for the right price this summer.
How many goals has James Ward-Prowse scored?
It’s clear to see why Villa, among other clubs, were interested in Ward-Prowse following Southampton’s relegation, with the 28-year-old being a seasoned professional in the Premier League and a consistently high-performer at St Mary’s.
While at Saints, the midfielder accumulated 343 Premier League appearances, showing experience in the English top flight that rarely can be bought, with the adaptation period typically difficult for midfielders from abroad.
James Ward-Prowse's previous five Premier League seasons (via Transfermarkt)
2019/20
Southampton
38
5
3
2020/21
Southampton
38
8
7
2021/22
Southampton
36
10
5
2022/23
Southampton
38
9
4
2023/24 so far
West Ham United
4
2
3
Throughout his career with the south coast side, the academy graduate turned captain scored a total of 55 goals in all competitions, as well as registering 54 assists in that time.
When Saints were low on inspiration, the Englishman was almost always there to shed some excellence on proceedings, dubbed as “incredible” by current Southampton manager Russell Martin with reference to his time at the club.
While Ward-Prowse’s contributions in the midfield as well as in the final third are admirable, his dead-ball excellence is never overlooked, as he is currently just one direct free-kick away from equalling the Premier League record.
Treble-winner Pep Guardiola previously lauded the 11-cap England international as being “the best free-kick taker” he had “ever seen”, which is praise indeed from a figure that has managed the likes of Lionel Messi.
David Beckham’s record stands at 18, with the Hammers genius just one behind with 17 and considering his track record, the 28-year-old is in good stead to rewrite history in that aspect.
What could James Ward-Prowse have offered to Villa?
Aside from his set-piece theatrics, what West Ham secured was a competent and commanding asset in the middle of the park.
The treasure that the Irons collected was the sparkle that was missed by Villa, who could have had a far stronger set-up in midfield if they had pushed to secure his signature.
John McGinn has shone since Emery’s arrival, however, the Scotsman is not as strong a performer as Ward-Prowse, who could have provided an upgrade to the 28-year-old in the Spaniard’s free-flowing formation.
As per FBref, last season in the Premier League, the former Saints hero averaged 0.18 non-penalty goals per 90, as well as 3.39 shot-creating actions per 90 to showcase the threat he could pose on goal, despite being in a team short of desire.
McGinn fell short in such areas for Villa last term, showing far less of a presence in the final third with an average of 0.03 non-penalty goals per 90, and 2.67 shot-creating actions.
When it came to passing in the 2022/23 campaign, the Villans midfielder ranked lower than their reported summer target in terms of his ability to get the ball into advanced areas, averaging 4.68 progressive passes and just 0.60 key passes per 90.
Ward-Prowse recorded a superior average of 1.98 key passes per 90 during Saints’ bottom-of-the-table season, as well as averaging 5.05 progressive passes per 90 to convey his presence in the midfield, via FBref.
Having contributed to five goals in four fixtures already this campaign for the Irons, the £30m man is already looking to be a bargain, having scored two and assisted three in his opening moments as a Hammer.
Emery has been shown early days just what he could have had in his side if the club had pushed to sign the Englishman, however, the Spaniard will have to find peace in what has prevailed to be a smart piece of business by the east Londoners.