West Ham get serious with £25m offer for second proven midfielder amid risk of another costly exit

In addition to Conor Gallagher, West Ham have been bidding for Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse, according to reports.

West Ham are searching for reinforcements in midfield after selling Declan Rice to Arsenal in a club-record deal. A number of options are on their radar to fill the void left by the former captain.

Tuesday’s transfer gossip has relayed that West Ham have had a bid rejected by Chelsea for Gallagher. But it seems they have simultaneously been working on a separate deal.

According to the Daily Telegraph, whose report was published within two hours of the Gallagher news breaking, West Ham have also put a bid in for Ward-Prowse.

Although not stylistically the same type of midfielder, Ward-Prowse has various parallels with Rice. Both captained their clubs last season and until this summer had spent their entire careers as one-club men.

But just like Rice, the time might have come for Ward-Prowse to make the first transfer of his career. After all, he has just suffered relegation with Southampton.

If Ward-Prowse wants to remain in contention for an England place at Euro 2024, he would more than likely have to step back up to the Premier League and impress in the top flight again.

West Ham would be willing to offer him that opportunity, so have put £25m on the table. It is not yet clear if that bid will be accepted or rejected.

Southampton still have Ward-Prowse under contract for another three seasons. However, their return to the Championship has led to a realisation that they may struggle to keep him.

David Moyes is especially keen on bringing Ward-Prowse to the London Stadium. The manager believes his target could help in a variety of midfield roles.

Indeed, West Ham could sign Ward-Prowse and still target a more defensive midfielder as a natural replacement for Rice. In that regard, their shortlist includes Denis Zakaria, Joao Palhinha and Scott McTominay – even if the latter also seems to be less of a holding option.

The chances of them reviving their interest in Gallagher are currently in doubt after Chelsea said no to their £40m proposal.

West Ham could earn up to £105m from the Rice deal, so should have decent funds to reinvest in the department.

Soucek tipped to leave West Ham

It could become an even more critical issue if claims from Turkey about the future of Tomas Soucek are to be believed.

According to A Haber, Soucek could leave West Ham on loan for Galatasaray in order to experience Champions League football.

The issue is that Soucek is only under contract for another year at West Ham, so they would probably have to activate their option to extend his deal into 2025 before signing off on his exit.

Soucek and Rice had been a regular starting combination in West Ham’s midfield. Therefore, it could be a complete overhaul of the department.

The Soucek update should probably be taken with a pinch of salt for the time being, though, given the questionable aspects of the deal.

READ MORE: West Ham move for ex-Liverpool hero ‘well underway’, with £20m exit to quickly follow