James Ward-Prowse has been to this stadium before, but never like this. On Saturday he walks out in a Southampton shirt, at the ground where he spent three seasons, for a club that sold him two months ago. He’ll be facing the manager who shaped most of that story. West Ham signed him in 2023 and later loaned him to Nottingham Forest and Burnley before sending him back to Southampton this summer. Few players get a reunion with this much behind it.
The trouble began at Forest. Nuno Espírito Santo was in charge there when West Ham loaned Ward-Prowse out in August 2024, and the story goes, according to sources, that on the training ground one day, Ward-Prowse, who has a reputation for keeping things light and playful sometimes, was reprimanded by Nuno and was told to get back to training. The manager then dug in and told him he wanted him to work hard enough that even his perfect hair would get messy. Ward-Prowse shot back with a crack about Nuno’s balding head, which he found disrespectful. He would later express to his coaches that a player, especially a loanee, should never disrespect a head coach on the training ground among other players.
The relationship never recovered.
The loan ended early in February 2025, with Ward-Prowse having played only a handful of minutes since Christmas. Then came a twist. When West Ham needed a manager in September 2025, they hired Nuno, and Ward-Prowse’s new boss was the man he’d fallen out with. Nuno dropped him from the squad as soon as he arrived. By January, he had left on loan again, this time for Burnley.
This summer looked like a fresh start. West Ham were relegated; Nuno needed options. Ward-Prowse featured in two of West Ham’s preseason friendlies, and Nuno seemed ready to give him another look. It didn’t last. On August 28, West Ham accepted a transfer fee, and he was sent back to Southampton. He said when he signed his deal that “home is a special place.” Three days earlier, West Ham had beaten Southampton 4-1 at St Mary’s in the Carabao Cup. Ward-Prowse had been dropped again. The writing was on the wall.
Ward-Prowse is 31, and the last two years left him as a player moved from squad to squad. He’ll want to show what Nuno gave away. He’s also back where he’s trusted, with the set pieces that made his name and 17 Premier League free-kick goals from his first spell. He has six goal contributions against West Ham over the years, including the free-kick that set up Jan Bednarek’s winner in a 3-2 Southampton victory in 2021.
The timing also gives him an opening. Flynn Downes, Southampton’s central midfielder and a former West Ham player, damaged an ankle ligament against Norwich and is rated the less likely to suit up for the fixture. If Downes misses out, Ward-Prowse becomes the experienced centre of Southampton’s midfield, next to Cameron Bragg, on the day he most wants to be there.
What to look for
This is not a team West Ham can treat lightly. Southampton are seventh with 17 points, though that figure follows a four-point deduction; they have taken 21 on the pitch. They’ve kept three league clean sheets in a row, and they’ve scored 21 goals while conceding 10 in 11 games. They’re built around creators. Finn Azaz and Leo Scienza can unlock a defence, Kuryu Matsuki adds energy on the flank, and Cyle Larin has scored seven league goals but came off with a suspected hamstring problem against Bolton and is doubtful. If he can’t play, Lewis Dobbin leads the line.
They are also vulnerable on the road. Southampton have won only one of their last five away games and have scored just five away goals, compared with 16 at home. West Ham will want to exploit that.
Predicted lineups
West Ham (4-2-3-1): Hermansen; Veltman, Mavropanos, Kilman, Morato; Kante, Engels; Bowen, Mukasa, Austbø; Castellanos.
Southampton (4-2-3-1): Peretz; Bree, Stephens, Schlotterbeck, Welington; Ward-Prowse, Bragg; Matsuki, Azaz, Scienza; Dobbin.
Nuno’s reaction when Ward-Prowse takes his first corner could be the most interesting moment of the afternoon.
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