James Ward-Prowse has become a target for Manchester City, who are facing direct competition from rivals Manchester United for the Southampton midfielder this summer, according to a new report.
Despite going toe-to-toe against Luka Modric and Toni Kroos in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie with Real Madrid last week, the fact that Manchester City’s midfield trio of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, and Rodri came out on top is indicative of their respective abilities.
While Modric has deservedly been put alongside some of the greatest midfielders of all time for sustaining his magnificent displays at 36 years of age, it is the likes of De Bruyne and Silva that ultimately got on the scoresheet, with the latter even going on to win the man of the match award in the opening leg.
And while the metronomic Kroos struggled all game and was eventually replaced for Eduardo Camavinga later on in the contest, Rodri’s splendid outing as a number six was perhaps proof that Manchester City possesses arguably the best set of midfielders in world football currently.
Add the presence of seasoned operators on the bench such as Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandinho and the aforementioned claim looks like it should not even be up for debate and yet, City has yet again been linked with a brand-new midfield addition to their ranks next season.
According to the latest information from Harry Pratt of The Daily Star, Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse is understood to be a target for Manchester City, who face ‘direct competition’ from Manchester United for his signature.
It has further been revealed that Pep Guardiola is a ‘huge admirer’ of the free-kick specialist, who has registered 18 direct goal contributions in 39 appearances across all competitions for the Saints this season.
Ahead of his side’s 1-1 draw with the Saints in January, Guardiola hailed the 27-year-old as the best set-piece taker in the world currently – an indication of how highly he rates the Southampton skipper’s signature trait.
Be that as it may, it looks unlikely that Manchester City will pursue James Ward-Prowse’s signature before a deal for Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland is wrapped up next summer, with the Blues’ desire to sign a midfielder unlikely to supersede their bid to sign a world-class striker.
Leave a Reply