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Manchester United set to rival Manchester City for midfield star
Manchester United and Manchester City are reportedly ready to fight it out over a massive £75 million move for Southampton midfielder James Ward Prowse this summer, according to the Daily Star.
The Saints captain, now 27 years old, is having a stellar season in Ralph Hassenhutl’s engine room, weighing in with 9 goals and 5 assists so far this term. He has become renowned for his set-piece delivery and now sits second, behind only David Beckham, in the number of free-kicks scored in the Premier League.
James Ward-Prowse in all competitions this season:
? 38 games
⚽️ 10 goals
?️ 8 assistsSouthampton’s star. ?⭐️ pic.twitter.com/jzRvMnA0Rf
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) April 30, 2022
On the fringes of the England squad under Gareth Southgate too, JWP is clearly in his prime, and it is something that the two Manchester Clubs apparently want to take advantage of, though they are not alone.
Six clubs involved as Manchester pair lead the way
As per the Daily Star, six clubs are tracking the midfielder, but the Manchester pair could be the far and away favourites to both attract the player, thought to be settled on the south coast, and also pay the sort of fee that would be required to prise him away.
‘Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle are all tracking developments closely, while Aston Villa failed with a £25m swoop last summer’, the report claims.
But, they add, the midfielder has interest from Manchester United, while Manchester City are big admirers too.
He has reportedly ‘been added to the Reds summer shopping as they search for two new central midfielders as part of their planned close-season overhaul. But that is set to bring them into direct competition with their local rivals as Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of the England international.’
A move to Manchester United would hand Ward-Prowse the best chance of regular gametime, with City boasting a strong selection of central midfielders. But, at present, he is doing just fine at Southampton and is sure to have caught Southgate’s eye.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Liverpool FC | 34 | 64 | 82 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 33 | 59 | 80 |
| 3 | Chelsea FC | 33 | 40 | 66 |
| 4 | Arsenal FC | 33 | 12 | 60 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 33 | 18 | 58 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 35 | 2 | 55 |
| 7 | West Ham United | 34 | 8 | 52 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 33 | 4 | 49 |
| 9 | Newcastle United | 35 | -16 | 43 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 32 | -4 | 42 |
| 11 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 34 | -11 | 41 |
| 12 | Brentford FC | 34 | -8 | 40 |
| 13 | Southampton FC | 34 | -16 | 40 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 33 | 2 | 38 |
| 15 | Aston Villa | 32 | -4 | 37 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 33 | -30 | 34 |
| 17 | Burnley FC | 33 | -16 | 31 |
| 18 | Everton FC | 32 | -21 | 29 |
| 19 | Watford FC | 33 | -36 | 22 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 33 | -47 | 21 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 22 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 17 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 17 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 15 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 14 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 12 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 12 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace | 12 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 11 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 11 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 11 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 10 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 10 |
| Pukki, Teemu | Norwich City | 10 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 10 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 10 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 10 |
| Smith-Rowe, Emile | Arsenal FC | 10 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 9 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 9 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bednarek, Jan | Southampton FC | 0 | 10 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 10 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 10 |
| Firpo, Junior | Leeds United | 0 | 10 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 9 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 0 | 9 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 9 |
| Brownhill, Josh | Burnley FC | 0 | 9 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 9 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 8 |
| Mctominay, Scott | Manchester United | 0 | 9 |
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 7 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 7 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 8 |
| Cash, Matty | Aston Villa | 0 | 8 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa | 0 | 8 |
| Joelinton | Newcastle United | 0 | 8 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 8 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 13 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 12 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 9 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 9 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 9 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 8 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 8 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City | 7 |
| Mbeumo, Bryan | Brentford FC | 7 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 7 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 6 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 6 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 6 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 6 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City | 6 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 6 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 6 |
