---
title: "Aston Villa: Villans keen on James Ward-Prowse"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/aston-villa-villans-keen-on-james-ward-prowse/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Charlie Smith"
section: "Aston Villa"
published: "2021-08-03T12:05:31Z"
modified: "2021-08-03T12:05:31Z"
---

# Aston Villa: Villans keen on James Ward-Prowse

**Aston Villa are still looking to sign Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse, according to [Sky Sports](https://twitter.com/skysportsnews/status/1422232403939139591?s=21).**

### The Lowdown: £25m bid

Villa were first [linked](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/jun/06/aston-villa-set-to-make-move-for-southamptons-james-ward-prowse-transfer-window) with a move for the Saints captain at the beginning of June, a day after they agreed on a [club-record deal](https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2021/june/Villa-confirm-club-record-Buendia-signing/) for Emiliano Buendia. However, rumours of a possible Villa Park switch didn’t exactly gather pace in June and most of July.

[David Ornstein](https://twitter.com/David_Ornstein/status/1421106407789764609) of The Athletic revealed on Friday that Southampton have rejected a £25m bid from Villa for Ward-Prowse, but it seems as if they haven’t given up hope of signing the 26-year-old.

\[freshpress-poll id=”363058″\]

### The Latest: Sky Sports’ claim

[Sky Sports](https://twitter.com/skysportsnews/status/1422232403939139591?s=21) reporters Dharmesh Sheth and Kaveh Solhekol ran through the transfer latest on all 20 Premier League clubs live on air, which was shared on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/skysportsnews/status/1422232403939139591?s=21).

When it came to Villa, Solhekol outlined that Villa are closing in on a £30m deal for Leon Bailey, before revealing that ‘Villa also want’ Ward-Prowse.

The Southampton captain, who Pep Guardiola hailed last season as the [“best free-kick taker I have seen in my life”](https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/the-best-free-kick-taker-i-have-seen-in-my-life-pep-praises-ward-/1ccfst0ctpf4x1jnjicd2bo44l), still has [four](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/james-ward-prowse/profil/spieler/181579) years remaining on his contract at St Mary’s.

\[freshpress-quiz id=”363813″\]

### The Verdict: Cost more than Bailey?

With Villa’s deal for Bailey rumoured to be in the region of [£30m](https://twitter.com/skysportsnews/status/1422232403939139591?s=21), it appears as if any possible move for Ward-Prowse could cost Villa more than that.

[Ornstein](https://twitter.com/David_Ornstein/status/1421106407789764609) admitted Southampton would want ‘far more’ than the initial £25m offer, so Villa may well need to make the Englishman their club-record signing, surpassing Buendia’s [£34.56m](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/aston-villa/transferrekorde/verein/405) move.

Villa may easily have the funds to spend big on Ward-Prowse over the coming weeks, though, especially with Jack Grealish linked with a [£100m](https://twitter.com/JPercyTelegraph/status/1421073536031117314) move to Manchester City.

***In other news:*** [***Many AVFC fans are buzzing over Leon Bailey latest.***](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/aston-villa-transfer-rumours/aston-villa-fans-react-to-leon-bailey-update-3/)