{"id":293915,"date":"2023-11-13T06:54:05","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T06:54:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/?p=293915"},"modified":"2023-11-13T06:54:05","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T06:54:05","slug":"tottenham-may-live-to-regret-ward-prowse-snub-as-maddison-fears-realised","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/soccer\/tottenham-may-live-to-regret-ward-prowse-snub-as-maddison-fears-realised\/","title":{"rendered":"Tottenham may live to regret Ward-Prowse snub as Maddison fears realised"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Tottenham will be proud of the business they have done since Ange Postecoglou took charge this summer after a fine start to the season. The north London outfit have enjoyed an impressive first three months under the Australian, with signings such as James Maddison, Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario thriving at their new club. But after passing up the chance to sign James Ward-Prowse, there will be some at the club questioning whether their choice was the right one.<\/p>\n

As Spurs suffered their second defeat in the space of six days with a 2-1 loss at Wolves, Ward-Prowse – a player they reportedly tracked for much of the summer – excelled in the capital with two assists to cap a fine overall display in a 3-2 success over Nottingham Forest for West Ham.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old’s deliveries were a threat for the entirety of the game as Forest’s defenders didn’t know how to cope with his corners and free-kicks. His whipped corner delivery found Jarrod Bowen who made no mistake with his header to make it 2-2.<\/p>\n

West Ham boss David Moyes recognised that Ward-Prowse’s set pieces were causing problems and sent on Tomas Soucek towards the end of the game. That proved paid dividends late on when the Czech delivered the game winner with a powerful header from a Ward-Prowse delivery again.<\/p>\n

READ MORE <\/strong> Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou ‘eyes \u00a340m transfer hijack’ as trio near exit[TRANSFERS] <\/strong><\/p>\n

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At the peak of his powers, the midfielder is arguably the best set-piece specialist in the Premier League – and possibly Europe too now that Lionel Messi has departed to the United States. For that reason, he would have been a smart addition for any squad in the Premier League after scoring 11 goals last season, but Spurs decided not to pursue a deal after being put off by Southampton’s \u00a340million asking price.<\/p>\n

Instead, the Hammers agreed a \u00a330m package with his club Southampton late in the window, using some of the money raised from Declan Rice’s \u00a3105m move to Arsenal. Since then, Ward-Prowse has scored two goals and provided 10 assists in 17 appearances in all competitions and is already a fans’ favourite at the London Stadium.<\/p>\n

Spurs might have felt they were vindicated in their choice, having already spent \u00a340m to sign Maddison from Leicester. Postecoglou also has Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma in his midfield, so it is natural that the 59-year-old coach felt he was equipped in the midfield areas.<\/p>\n