James Ward-Prowse

James Ward-Prowse

Ward-Prowse playing for Southampton in 2015
Personal information
Full name James Michael Edward Ward-Prowse[1]
Date of birth (1994-11-01) 1 November 1994[2]
Place of birth Portsmouth, Hampshire, England
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
Southampton
Number 16
Youth career
2003–2011 Southampton
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011– Southampton 117 (4)
National team
2010–2011 England U17 7 (0)
2012–2013 England U19 4 (0)
2013–2014 England U20 7 (1)
2013– England U21 24 (6)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:16, 4 December 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:19, 25 May 2016 (UTC)

James Michael Edward Ward-Prowse (born 1 November 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Southampton and is the captain of the England national under-21 team. Originally a member of Southampton's youth system, Ward-Prowse made his first-team debut for the club in October 2011, and signed his first professional contract in May 2012. He has gone on to become a regular for the club, making over 100 appearances. He primarily plays as a central midfielder or a right-sided winger.

Early and personal life

Ward-Prowse was born in Portsmouth and is the son of John Ward-Prowse,[3] a barrister.[4] Although his family are Portsmouth supporters,[3] he joined their rivals Southampton at the age of eight.[5]

Club career

Early career

James Ward-Prowse joined the Southampton Academy at the age of eight, later featuring in every game for the under-18 team in the 2010–11 season before becoming a full-time scholar in 2011.[2] While at the Southampton academy, he secretly trained with non-league Havant & Waterlooville in order to "toughen" himself.[4]

2011–12 season

He was first called up to the senior team in October 2011, when he made his full debut for the Southampton first team at the age of 16 in the League Cup against Crystal Palace.[6][7][8] In his second starting appearance for the side, Ward-Prowse scored Southampton's first goal in a 2–1 win over Coventry City to help his side through to the fourth round of the FA Cup.[2][9][10] Following the club's promotion to the top flight in May 2012, Ward-Prowse was one of four youth players offered a professional contract for their return to the Premier League, along with Jack Stephens, Luke Shaw, and Calum Chambers.[11]

2012–13 season

Ward-Prowse playing for Southampton in 2012

Ward-Prowse made his Premier League debut for the Saints on the opening day of the 2012–13 season, playing the first 65 minutes of a 3–2 loss against reigning champions Manchester City.[12] After the game, his performance was described by then-manager Nigel Adkins as "outstanding".[13] After a substitute appearance against Wigan Athletic,[14] the 17-year-old returned to the starting lineup for the third game of the campaign against Manchester United, continuing to draw praise from commentators.[15] In November, shortly after turning 18 years old, Ward-Prowse signed a five-year contract with Southampton, amidst speculation that he might leave the club in the near future.[16][17]

In a home match against Queens Park Rangers in March, Ward-Prowse was involved in a late attack which could have saved the hosts a point when he provided a cross to be headed at goal by centre-back Maya Yoshida, only for substitute goalkeeper Robert Green to save and secure the win for the visitors.[18] He later provided the assist for a Jason Puncheon equaliser in the penultimate game of the season against fellow strugglers Sunderland on 12 May, picking up play from strikers Jay Rodriguez and Rickie Lambert to cross for the winger to secure an important point for the Saints in the 75th minute of play.[19]

Despite making 15 league appearances for his club throughout the season, many of these came as a substitute, and as a result it was reported at the end of the season that Ward-Prowse was "not content sitting on the bench".[20] The midfielder did, however, win the Scholar of the Season accolade at the Southampton club awards ceremony in May, beating academy teammates Luke Shaw and Dominic Gape to the title.[21]

2013–14 season

At the beginning of the 2013–14 season, Ward-Prowse came into favour with manager Mauricio Pochettino to start the first game of the season against West Bromwich Albion, almost scoring in one of the few attacking moves of an otherwise uneventful encounter which ended 1–0 to the Saints thanks to a last-minute penalty from Lambert.[22] The midfielder also played the full 90 minutes of the following game against Sunderland, gaining an assist with a free kick in the 88th minute which was headed in for a late equaliser by centre-back José Fonte.[23]

2014–15 season

Ward-Prowse featured in all of Southampton's matches of the 2014–15 season, until on 20 September, when he fractured his foot in a win over Swansea City; he was ruled out for 10 weeks.[24] He signed a new five-and-a-half year contract in January 2015.[25] On 11 April, he scored his first Premier League goal, opening the scoring in a 2–0 win against Hull City with a penalty kick.[26] He was given a straight red card on 2 May for a foul on Sunderland's Jermain Defoe, conceding a penalty from which Jordi Gómez scored the winning goal.[27]

2015–16 season

On 3 October 2015, Ward-Prowse was a half-time substitute for Oriol Romeu in a 3–1 win at reigning champions Chelsea.[28] This was his 100th Southampton appearance, making him the fourth-youngest player to reach that figure.[29]

Ward-Prowse was praised by manager Ronald Koeman after scoring two goals in a 3–0 win home win against West Bromwich Albion on 16 January 2016: a free kick and a penalty.[30][31] On 13 May 2016, he signed a new contract until 2022.[32]

International career

Ward-Prowse began his international career with the England under-17 team, gaining seven caps for the side in two tournaments between 2010 and 2011.[33] In 2012 he made the step up to the under-19 side, for whom he played four times, and in 2013 joined the under-20s for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey; the midfielder played all three games in the tournament, none of which England won.[33]

At the age of 18, Ward-Prowse received his first call-up to the England under-21 team from Gareth Southgate in August 2013, for the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches against Moldova and Finland.[34] He played for 64 minutes in the first match,[35] and for the full 90 against Finland, in which he had some of England's most clear goal-scoring opportunities.[36] He scored his first under-21 goal on 15 October, scoring a free-kick from 20 yards in a 5–0 win against Lithuania.[37] During the 2014 Toulon Tournament, he scored a "stunning" free-kick against Brazil during the group stages.[38] This was later voted "Goal of the Tournament"; Ward-Prowse was also voted as one of the best three players in the tournament.[39]

In April 2015, Roy Hodgson called Ward-Prowse a "big prospect" and hinted at a possible senior team call up by saying "he'll be in our thoughts because we like him very much."[40]

On 29 May 2016, he captained England Under-21s to victory in the Toulon Tournament for the first time since 1994, by beating hosts France 2–1.[41]

Club statistics

As of 4 December 2016
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season Division League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Southampton 2011–12[42] Championship 00111021
2012–13[43] Premier League 1501030190
2013–14[44] 3403020390
2014–15[45] 2513020301
2015–16[46] 332102030392
2016–17[47] 101002050171
Career total 117491120801465

References

  1. "Premier League Clubs submit Squad Lists" (PDF). Premier League. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "James Ward-Prowse". Player Profiles. Southampton F.C. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  3. 1 2 Walter, Simon (27 October 2011). "Why teenager James ditched Pompey for Saints". Southern Echo. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  4. 1 2 Paul Doyle (4 February 2014). "Southampton's James Ward-Prowse: why I decided to toughen myself up". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  5. "Profile". Southampton F.C. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  6. "Nigel Adkins backs 16-year-old Southampton debutant". BBC Sport. 24 October 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  7. Smith, Chris (24 October 2011). "Crystal Palace 2–0 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  8. Butler, Matt (26 October 2011). "Crystal Palace 2 Southampton 0: Williams is the spark as Eagles leave it late". Daily Mail. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  9. "Coventry 1–2 Southampton". BBC Sport. 7 January 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  10. "Coventry 1 Southampton 2: Sky Blues dumped out by youthful Saints side". Daily Mail. 7 January 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  11. "Southampton promote academy quartet to first team squad". BBC Sport. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  12. Bevan, Chris (19 August 2012). "Man City 3–2 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  13. "Southampton boss Adkins defends starting Rickie Lambert on bench". BBC Sport. 19 August 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  14. Monaghan, Matt (25 August 2012). "Southampton 0–2 Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  15. Hassan, Nabil (2 September 2012). "Southampton 2–3 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  16. "Southampton secure James Ward-Prowse on five-year deal". BBC Sport. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  17. Hirst, Paul (19 November 2012). "Rising Saints star Ward-Prowse pens long-term deal at St Mary's". Daily Mail. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  18. Sheringham, Sam (2 March 2013). "Southampton 1–2 QPR". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  19. Ornstein, David (12 May 2013). "Sunderland 1–1 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  20. "Southampton: James Ward-Prowse desperate for game time". BBC Sport. 11 June 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  21. "Morgan Does the Double!". Southampton F.C. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  22. Johnston, Neil (17 August 2013). "West Brom 0–1 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  23. Hassan, Neil (24 August 2013). "Southampton 1–1 Sunderland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  24. "Southampton's James Ward-Prowse out for 10 weeks". BBC Sport. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  25. "James Ward-Prowse signs new long-term Southampton deal". BBC Sport. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  26. "Southampton 2-0 Hull City". BBC Sport. 11 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  27. "Sunderland 2-1 Southampton". BBC Sport. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  28. Rose, Gary (3 October 2015). "Chelsea 1–3 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  29. Osman, Luke (3 October 2015). "Looking to the Future: James Ward-Prowse". Read. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  30. Jack Lang (16 January 2016). "Ronald Koeman hails brilliant James Ward-Prowse after two-goal show in Southampton's West Brom win". The Mirror. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  31. Jennings, Patrick (16 January 2016). "Southampton 3-0 West Brom". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  32. "Fraser Forster & James Ward-Prowse: Southampton pair sign new deals". BBC Sport. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  33. 1 2 "James Ward-Prowse". England Players. The Football Association. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  34. "James Ward-Prowse gets first England Under-21s call-up". BBC Sport. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  35. "England U21s beat Moldova in Gareth Southgate's first game". BBC Sport. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  36. "Saido Berahino nets in England U21 draw with Finland". BBC Sport. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  37. "England U21 5–0 Lithuania U21" BBC Sport. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  38. "James Ward-Prowse wishes free-kick was the winner". The FA. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  39. Urquhart-Cannon, Alex (2 June 2014). "Ward-Prowse wins two Toulon trophies". Southampton FC. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  40. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32183150
  41. "England Under-21s win Toulon Tournament for first time in 22 years". BBC Sport. 29 May 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  42. "Games played by James Ward-Prowse in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  43. "Games played by James Ward-Prowse in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  44. "Games played by James Ward-Prowse in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  45. "Games played by James Ward-Prowse in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  46. "Games played by James Ward-Prowse in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  47. "Games played by James Ward-Prowse in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
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