With regard to their impact at the club, Declan Rice is the biggest player to leave West Ham United arguably since possibly Dimitri Payet, and in the summer of 2023, David Moyes had to work overtime to find a replacement.
It was clear when trying to replace a midfielder who had just left for around £105m, you wouldn’t fully replace them, and instead, the goal was to acquire a few midfielders with different attributes to fill the void.
West Ham 2023 summer signings
Player
Mohammed Kudus
Edson Alvarez
James Ward-Prowse
Konstantinos Mavropanos
Andy Irving
West Ham spent around £124m on five new signings in the 2023 summer window, three of which were central midfielders, all of whom could offer different qualities lost when Rice left the club.
West Ham 2023/24 midfield options
During the 2023/24 season, Moyes often deployed a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1, picking three of James Ward-Prowse, Edson Alvarez, Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta. The key qualities this midfield needed to conjure up to replace Rice included progressive passing (Rice averaged 6.62 in the 2022/23 season) and defensive qualities, including tackles (2.22) and interceptions (1.63).
Declan Rice celebrating for West Ham.
But a few other aspects of Rice's departure that the squad now had to find elsewhere that do not quite show up on the stats sheet are leadership and mobility in central areas, as he often covered a lot of distance for the team in order to provide support in all phases.
Ward-Prowse vs Alvarez, Soucek & Paqueta
Stats (per 90 mins)
Goals
Assists
Progressive Carries
Progressive Passes
Shots Total
Passes Attempted
Pass Completion %
Key Passes
Tackles
Interceptions
Aerial Duels Won
Stats taken from FBref
Ward-Prowse was able to add extra progressive passing and key passing abilities, alongside Paqueta, who also already offered this set of skills. The English midfielder also, of course, added a much-needed set-piece quality, which showed in his 2023/24 campaign, often whipping in corners to West Ham's avail.
More of the defensive burden was taken up by Alvarez, who was signed from Ajax for around £35.4m. The Mexican averaged 2.91 tackles per 90 and 1.55 interceptions per 90, bringing some extra stability and duel-winning quality in front of the defensive line.
James Ward-Prowse scores from a corner for West Ham
But one thing that remained missing was mobility in midfield, as Alvarez and Ward-Prowse didn't provide this.
James Ward-Prowse's time at West Ham
Ward-Prowse was signed using the Rice money, joining from Southampton for a fee of around £30m. The 30-year-old has made 53 appearances for the Hammers, scoring seven goals, providing 11 assists, and totalling 4,098 minutes played.
James Ward-Prowse for West Ham
You can see from the output above instantly that on the offensive side of things, Ward-Prowse clearly had something to offer the team, providing goals and assists, bringing set-piece threat to the side, and circulating possession nicely. He was also a decent leader, something Moyes outlined when the club first signed him.
"He's performed to a very high level in the Premier League over the last decade, constantly producing good numbers season after season. His leadership qualities are obviously another huge plus for us – he’ll be a big voice for us, someone who drives the team on from the middle of the pitch."
However, with Paqueta already the more advanced midfielder, the role the former Southampton star ended up in more often than not, was one which needed more defensive quality, and more box-to-box potency.
After Julen Lopetegui took over this summer, West Ham made the signing of Guido Rodriguez on a free, adding another new defensive midfielder, and therefore decided to send Ward-Prowse on loan to Nottingham Forest.
The English midfielder is on £115k-per-week at West Ham, and considering the club have at least four midfielders ahead of him in the pecking order, it seems the best option would be to move him on permanently next year.
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Options to replace James Ward-Prowse at West Ham
One replacement for Ward-Prowse, who is already at the club and could improve the Hammers midfield, is 18-year-old Lewis Orford.
The English midfielder has made 99 appearances for the U18 and U21 West Ham sides, scoring 19 goals, providing 30 assists, and totalling 7,684 minutes on the field.
Reporter John Brewin has previously compared the teenager to to Michael Carrick, as well as Rice in the past, even stating he has the ability to arrive in the box and score goals like Frank Lampard.
A player with this skillset, whilst having more mobility, is exactly what West Ham are missing in the centre of the park.
Declan Rice for West Ham
If West Ham were to enter the transfer market in order to solve these mobility issues in midfield, there are a number of options they could assess. Two names that immediately come to mind for this role would be Albert Sambi Lokonga who is on loan at Sevilla from Arsenal, and Felix Nmecha from Dortmund.
Lokonga vs Nmecha comparison
Stats (per 90 mins)
Goals
Assists
Progressive Carries
Progressive Passes
Passes Attempted
Pass Completion %
Key Passes
Tackles
Interceptions
Recoveries
Stats taken from FBref
Both of these midfielders have impressed for their respective sides in Europe this season, showing brilliant ball recovery qualities, a mobility to cover ground for their team and win duels.
felix-nmecha-borussia-dortmund
Nmecha came through the Manchester City academy, stands at 6 foot 1, and has begun to show his true potential for Dortmund this season, scoring three goals and providing two assists.
On the other hand, Lokonga has also played in England before, with both the Gunners and Luton Town, and looks to have added real maturity to his game, being more efficient on the ball in the build-up, alongside his obvious ball-winning qualities.
West Ham midfielder James Ward-Prowse
If West Ham can manage to sell Ward-Prowse, get his hefty wages off their books, and add a more desired midfield profile to the side, they will become a much stronger and more balanced outfit.
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