When weighing up the merits of recruitment under a director of football versus West Ham’s usual approach, a few familiar names came to mind.
Felipe Anderson, Sébastien Haller and Kalvin Phillips were obvious examples. But after reading Matt’s piece earlier, it struck me that James Ward-Prowse is probably a more relevant — and recent — case.
A signing that made sense at the time
There’s nothing inherently wrong with Ward-Prowse.
He was brought in as one of two players tasked with replacing the all-round impact of Declan Rice, with West Ham paying somewhere between £25m and £30m to Southampton.
Under David Moyes, he largely did what was expected — delivering from set-pieces and creating chances. Compared to the rest of the league, his output stacked up well.
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High work rate, end product — on the surface, it looked like a solid signing.
The problem was always resale
But this is where the issue lies.
Ward-Prowse was never a player likely to generate significant resale value.
And once Moyes departed, his place in the team quickly became uncertain. He drifted in and out under Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter, before being almost completely phased out under Nuno Espirito Santo.
A familiar West Ham pattern
Now it looks increasingly likely he’ll be sold this summer, potentially back to Southampton.
If that happens, West Ham could be looking at recouping somewhere between £5m and £8m — a loss of around £20m on a player who effectively delivered one strong season.
Why this keeps happening
And that’s the point.
This isn’t about whether Ward-Prowse is a good player — he’s okay.
It’s about the type of signing.
Too often, West Ham have bought players without considering the longer-term picture. When circumstances change — whether it’s a new manager or a shift in style — those players quickly lose value.