According to a report in the Daily Mail, Southampton and Leicester City could lose two first-team players to West Ham United this summer.
Southampton and Leicester have both been relegated to the Championship which is why they will be forced to sell several of their big-name players.
West Ham United will sell Declan Rice to Arsenal for a massive transfer fee and they want to use some of that money to sign Harvey Barnes and James Ward-Prowse.
Barnes and Ward-Prowse are top players who don’t deserve to play in the second tier so they will do all they can to return to the Premier League next season. The Hammers won’t mind spending the big bucks on these two players but because Southampton and Leicester City need to cut their costs, several other EPL sides are interested in these two England internationals as well.
How much do Southampton & Leicester want for the two targets?
Leicester City are reportedly quoting £30 million for their left-winger while the Saints want £50 million for James Ward-Prowse.
£50 million is a lot of money for a midfielder who will be 29 years old in November but because West Ham United, Tottenham and even Newcastle United want to sign him, Southampton feel they can get good value.
The Saints are keeping their hopes high but we think £30-35 million is good enough for Ward-Prowse.
Should the Hammers spend money on these two players?
West Ham United should bag around £100-110 million from Declan Rice’s transfer so David Moyes won’t mind spending £75-80 million on Barnes and JWP.
Leicester and Southampton might have been relegated but these two still remain world-class players who can very easily play for any top Premier League team.
Signing a defensive midfielder will be the priority for the West Ham manager but even after spending money on Ward-Prowse and Harvey Barnes, Moyes will have plenty left to bring in a direct-replacement for Rice.
