West Ham in contact over Ward-Prowse upgrade

West Ham United have been undergoing a midfield rebuild in recent years. Having lost Declan Rice last season, the Hammers acquired Edson Alvarez to fill his boots, and James Ward-Prowse to add quality in the midfield.

This summer, the Hammers have managed to add Guido Rodriquez to the squad, and are still looking to add a technical midfielder to suit their possession-based brand of football. This could already spell the end for Ward-Prowse, who joined last season, as he could find himself further down the pecking order.

Ward-Prowse made 51 appearances for West Ham in all competitions last season, scoring seven goals, providing 12 assists, and totalling 4,112 minutes played.

West Ham transfer news

According to reports from Fabrizio Romano, West Ham have made initial contact to explore a deal for PSG midfielder, Carlos Soler. Direct talks will follow in the coming days with the players’ camp, according to the report.

The Hammers will continue to work on outgoings as a priority, the report states, and this should also help towards getting the Soler deal over the line.

Soler made 28 appearances for PSG last season in all competitions, scoring two goals, providing four assists, and contributing to ten clean sheets in his 1,277 minutes played.

Why Soler could be West Ham’s Gundogan

When being discussed on Sky Sports, Soler was described as a “neat and tidy” midfielder, who Julen Lopetegui would really like. His technical profile would suit the brand of football the new manager is trying to install at the club.

On FBref’s “similar players” feature, the playmaker is likened to a Premier League great, İlkay Gündoğan – who is set to make a return to Manchester City – among midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues.

The addition of Soler could provide that uplift of progression in midfield, extra composure on the ball during the build up, and as previously mentioned, help Lopetegui integrate his style of play.

Not only could he seek to replicate the attacking impetus of Gündoğan – who racked up 98 goals and assists during his first spell at City – but the PSG star could also offer a direct upgrade on Ward-Prowse for the Hammers.

Soler averages 1.59 more progressive passes per 90 than Ward-Prowse, nearly double the amount of progressive carries per 90, and 0.45 more passes into the final third per 90. This extra progression is important for Lopetegui’s system, allowing the likes of Lucas Paqueta to play higher up, alleviating him of deeper build-up responsibilities.

Against Aston Villa in their Premier League opener on Saturday, much of their progression in deep areas came from Paqueta dropping in to receive the ball, and playing through the lines. In an ideal world, he can receive the ball between the lines, closer to goal, where he can have an impact higher up the pitch.

It is also important for the midfielder to have composure on the ball, and a willingness to take the ball in traffic, which Soler shows with his higher passes attempted metric compared to Ward-Prowse, and higher pass completion numbers.

The main thing Ward-Prowse has over Soler is defensive action output, completing more tackles, blocks and interceptions than the Spaniard, but with Alvarez in midfield alongside him, and new defensive reinforcements such as Jean-Clair Todibo, Max Kilman, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, those defensive actions could be replaced quite easily.

All in all, it points to a deal that could prove a masterstroke for Lopetegui, while also allowing the new boss to find his own Gündoğan-esque attacking asset.