Graham Potter is not short of midfielders, but he is short of ones that he wants to keep, so it seems after one Southampton failure at The London Stadium in James Ward Prowse he is looking to replace him with another.

According to westhamzone.com The Hammers have made an enquiry about signing Matteus Fernandes, however they have been knocked back by Saints on this and are said to be turning their attention to a plethora of other targets including Harvey Elliott and Romano Schmid.

So it seems that after Southampton have played hardball and not roll over, Potter will look elsewhere.

But there is still a long time to go in the transfer window and the Hammer could again be hammering at the door, barely missed a minute let alone a game in his final 4 years at St Mary's, but since leaving St Mary's his career has nosedived, although his first season at West Ham was steady, it was not to the levels that it had been with Saints and he also lost his place in the England squad.

Last season he was sent out on loan to Nottingham Forest and by January he was either an unused substitute or just a handful of fleeting sub apppearances.

His return to West Ham saw him get game time, but it was clear that he was not part of the bigger picture going forward and Graham Potter wants to bring in new blood in the midfield.

So with Ward Prowse turning 31 in November what price a return to St Mary's as make weight in a deal to take Fernandes to East London, I would not rule it out.

All Photos Via Reuters

underweststand added 09:24 - Jul 30 Separate issues here, think Nick. 1) Fernandes was the only stand-out success in a disasterous season, and surely left an impression with several other Prem. clubs. IF ..he goes anywhere, we should make sure that we get a good deal for someone who is our most-marketable player at the moment. 2) JWP has his won place in our club history, but despite that still had his detractors (and not a few on this site). For my part I thought he was highly dependable, especially when playing alongside Romeu in midfield (sadly we never successfully replaced either of them). His subsequent seasons playing deeper, denied him the chances of exploiting the attacking role that always suited him best. IF WHam signed him for 3 years (?) then he will be in his final year when the season starts. Having signed KWP, I think Potter would be daft not to give them a chance to play together for a longer time before making a decision about letting him go / renewing his contract. Would I have him back ?...I think he is still a class act, and for those who may cite their disappointment at the return performances of Walcott and Lallana, we are not talking about the same beast. I think Prowsey reads the game well and would DAJFU as someone who could help others and still has the energy - and legs- to play for another 3 years.

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GRIM added 09:46 - Jul 30 Two problems with JWP returning. 1) his wages 2) he no longer has his protector in Oriel Romeu to do the dirty work for him. I'm not surprised he's failed to make an impact at West Ham or Forest, albeit his game is tidy & efficient he's just far too predictable.
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Flamingbankers added 10:43 - Jul 30 God no, that makeweight deal would truly illustrate the decline of Southampton FC. We're keeping Fernandes, no ifs or buts ( he says delusional but still dreaming hopefully). Agree with Grim above. JWP has always been too lightweight without a protector.
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Monksway added 12:14 - Jul 30 I fear, with Athletico Madrid interested as well that Fernandes will want to go and Saints will simply be negotiating for a decent fee. It's a real shame if it happens because in Edwards, Quashie, Charles, Fernandes and Dibling you have the potential basis of a Premier League team if we were actually promoted.
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WestSussexSaint added 15:26 - Jul 30 If Fernandes is sold it will purely be for financial reasons so SR can balance the books after relegation. For that reason SR are right to get the best possible deal and using JWP as a makeweight shouldn’t be part of the equation. I would love it if Fernandes does stick with us but as there is still over a month of the transfer window left I fear it is only a matter of time before SR get an offer they cannot say no to.

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Jesus_02 added 21:54 - Jul 30 We paid a championship team championship wages to play in the Premier League last season. We made a sizable profit. We look like we are getting 4m plus 120k a wages coverd for Ramsdale and we have are already well in credit after selling dead weight. From the comments that have been made by Russel Martin and SR it was always the intention to keep our better players this season and add to them should we get promoted. I wouldnt be suprised if Ramsdale will be the only player we are disapointed to see go. The only eception I can think of is Dibbling as he effectily only has 2 seasons left on his deal.. Promotion to the Premier League is worth £200m how much would someone have to pay for us to risk that? Barring injury Fernandez will be worth the same or more next season regardless of promotion.

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underweststand added 08:58 - Aug 1 a note to GRIM (above). True - the wage issue is a problem, but if WHam let him go at the end of the season, there is unlikely to be a queue seeking him, and a reduced salary might be win-win situation. Romeu was a one-off. A hardline midfielder (in the mould of Jimmy Case) who DAJFU, and collected 66 yellow cards in 7 years ...whilst avoiding a single red.! He and Prowsey were a v. good partnership but after OR left, JWP was forced to drop even deeper and had no regular partner anywhere near Romeu's quality to support him. JWP deserved the move to WHam, but showed he was more popular with Moyes than he seems to be under Potter. His apps. to date are nearly all as a sub. and his Saints role as a captain and "free-kicker" (after Rice left) went to other managerial / Hammer fan favourites who did no better, and several have since left the club. The loan to Forest was fiasco, and clearly their manager just wanted an extra ar*e on the bench, and had no intention of using him to replace any of his regular starters. All this supposition is still a season away, but the JWP / KWP partnership may well be the missing link in WHam's planning.

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