Should James Ward-Prowse be a major player for West Ham next season?

When it was announced that James Ward-Prowse would be allowed to leave on loan to Nottingham Forest, the main feeling fans had was bewilderment. While he had hardly set worlds alight, he had been a solid player with bags of Premier League experience; replacing him with Carlos Soler just felt weird.

After very little playing time at Forest, he rejoined the Hammers midway through the season. However, since coming back, he’s been a real point of controversy in the squad. Some fans seem to think he should be starting every match, other would sell him in a heartbeat.

His strengths are obvious. He is a real leader, has a great pass on him, and his set-pieces are second to none. However, his drawbacks are unfortunately just as pronounced. Pace is a real issue, he’s not the greatest on the ball, and he can run around like a headless chicken off it.

When he’s at his best, Ward-Prowse can change games. Unfortunately, it’s not all that often this happens. For me, he should be kept. Graham Potter certainly is a fan of his, and he’s a great squad player to have. Anything more than a squad player though and I would be disappointed.

The midfield desperately needs to be improved upon, but with how many players are already departing it won’t be healthy to add another to that list.