Southampton: PL rivals may have to pay £50m to prise rising star from St. Mary's

Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse is worth in excess of £50m, according to The Sun journalist Tom Barclay.

Ward-Prowse has spent his entire career at St Mary’s, having come through the club’s youth system, but rival teams could try to tempt him away from the South Coast this summer.

Southampton had to fend off interest in their captain from Aston Villa last summer.

The Midlands club made a £25m bid for the 10-cap England international, which was swiftly rejected by the Saints. Ward-Prowse then went on to sign a contract extension, tying him down to Southampton until 2026.

The 27-year-old has continued to flourish this term under Ralph Hasenhuttl, and David Beckham is the only player in Premier League history to score more direct free-kicks than Ward-Prowse. Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville and Micah Richards agreed last month that he deserves to be named in Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad later this year.

Erik ten Hag TALKS Man United job! Hear more on The Football Terrace…

Barclay feels Ward-Prowse would strengthen plenty of teams, but he believes potential suitors will have to pay a significant amount of money to land the £45,000-a-week star.

When discussing a realistic transfer fee for Ward-Prowse, Barclay told GIVEMESPORT: “You’re talking £50m-plus for him. And I think he’d be really good for a number of clubs, but it’s a lot of money.”

Southampton have made a habit of selling their best players over the years, with the likes of Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw and Sadio Mane all moving on to high-profile clubs.

The club are now under new ownership following a January takeover led by Serbian-born businessman Dragan Solak, but Barclay has previously claimed that he still expects Southampton to sell their brightest