It is safe to say that when a 17-year-old James Ward-Prowse made his league debut for Southampton against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium some four years ago, he was always going to be one of Southampton’s latest excellent products to join the long list of other players to emerge from the famously renowned academy.
When Southampton made their Premier League return, many were waiting in excitement to see whose name would be on the team sheet against what looked like a nailed on victory for then-champions Manchester City. It is with no doubt that the fans were in for a shock when Nigel Adkins opted to drop cult hero Rickie Lambert to the bench after he had guided us all the way up to this moment, but it came even more as a surprise to see that of young James Ward-Prowse in the starting line-up.
Considering a year earlier in the Championship promotion season the young midfielder had only played a handful of cup games with no league experience whatsoever, this was a brave move from Adkins, yet he believed enough in the teenager that this was the right time for him to get some first-team action – a gamble, some might say. In these cup games, Ward-Prowse managed to bag himself his first ever professional goal away at Coventry; this was to be his only open play goal to the present day.
I believe that this decision from Adkins has benefited Ward-Prowse in the long run, as he was chucked in at the deep end and has never looked back since. Playing in these big arenas has never bothered him and is never likely to either as this is all he knows. After signing his first professional contract back in May 2012, he has gone on to become a regular for the club, making over 100 appearances and becoming well known for his leadership qualities with the England under-21 side. A future captain for Southampton is on the lips of many fans, however, the now 21-year-old hasn’t had a completely smooth ride along the way.
He has faced many critics in the past few seasons for his lack of goals and some fans have started to question his performances, but I think that his work ethic is a massive asset to the team and a player of his quality who plays with his heart on his sleeve for the club he loves is a breath of fresh air for the club and is exactly what this team needs. After his debut season in the Premier League, he won scholar of the year, pipping Luke Shaw to the accolade, but it was reported that he was not content with how many times he was sat on the bench; an early indication of what it means to him to play for Southampton Football Club.
At the beginning of the 2013/14 season, Ward-Prowse came into favour with manager Mauricio Pochettino to start the first game of the season away at West Bromwich Albion, in which Southampton won 1-0. He continued to keep his hand in and amongst the first team, but has never been a regular on the team sheet with fierce competition in the midfield area. However, I feel in the future, that him and Harrison Reed will make for a great pairing against some of the Premier League’s top midfielders.
After signing a five-and-a-half-year contract at St Mary’s in January 2015, he reiterated his desire to play for our club and prove his worth, rather than just walk out the exit door at the first sighting of a big club, like many other academy players have in recent seasons. It was in this season that he was to net his first goal for the Saints; a penalty in a 2-0 victory over Hull City – most likely taught how to have taken it by ex-team-mate Rickie Lambert.
But, a sour point in the fledgling midfielders career was still yet to come, after receiving a harsh straight red card in a defeat to north east outfit Sunderland. Since then he has kept himself in good order and portrays himself as a hard working and honest midfielder for the team who will put his body on the line for the club if it means eventual success. Out of all the recent academy graduates I believe it is Ward-Prowse who has the most genuine affection for the club and would go on to play for us given that circumstances are right for his development.
In October this season, Ward-Prowse made a substitute appearance against Chelsea in a 3-1 win for the visitors, which was to be his 100th club appearance; an incredible achievement for the Portsmouth-born youngster. This made him the fourth youngest player to ever reach this figure in the Premier League. Since then, he has netted a further two times in a game against West Bromwich Albion, both coming from a penalty and a marvellous free kick respectively. This prompted major praise from manager Ronald Koeman which will only do his confidence the world of good.
He’s brilliant. It’s one of his qualities. We tell him to keep working on those free-kicks: it was so important to open up the game.
Along with major club success, he has also seen himself heavily favoured within the England under-21 setup, with whom he is now the captain of. At the age of just 18, Ward-Prowse received his first call-up to the England Under 21 side in August 2013, for the upcoming 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification games. He played for 64 minutes in the first match and for the full duration of the second. He scored his first under-21 goal in October 2013, scoring a free-kick from 20 yards in a 5-0 win against Lithuania. During the 2014 Toulon Tournament, he scored yet another trademark free-kick against Brazil during the group stages; this was later voted as the goal of the tournament. Ward-Prowse was also voted as one of the best three players in the tournament. In April 2015, current England manager Roy Hodgson called Ward-Prowse a “big prospect” and hinted at a possible senior team call-up by saying “He’ll be in our thoughts because we like him very much.”
How do you think Ward-Prowse’s career will pan out? How much potential do you think he has, and would he be a regular in your Southampton side?
