David Moyes praises ‘amazing’ James Ward-Prowse as West Ham’s new midfield man helps them recapture their set-piece dominance
- James Ward-Prowse helps West Ham regain the fear factor
- David Moyes took aim at him for this reason, praising his new man’s efforts
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At this rate, James Ward-Prowse will have to be rebranded as ‘The Postman’, with West Ham manager David Moyes saying his summer signing is delivering the goods.
Ward-Prowse has provided a goal or assist in every West Ham match since joining for £30m: two assists against Chelsea; one goal against Brighton; one assist against Luton; one goal against Manchester City; two assists against Backa Topola in Thursday’s Europa League win.
Liverpool are next in the Premier League at Anfield on Sunday and Moyes says he is happy with Ward-Prowse’s start. The Scot pursued the England international for this goal for years, but finally secured him following Southampton’s relegation to the Championship.
Moyes believes West Ham are a team that should be at the top of the set-piece table. They ranked first in 2020-2021, then fifth in 2021-2022, and then 11th in 2022-2023. Now Moyes feels his side are returning to their former status as corner-kick connoisseurs in the Premier League, thanks to Ward-Prowse’s performances.
James Ward-Prowse has made a good contribution to West Ham with his set pieces and playmaking
David Moyes wants his team to restore their set-piece strength after finishing top of the set-piece table in 2020/21
“We could have scored four or five from corners,” Moyes said in midweek after West Ham’s European win. “We’ve been quite a side of set pieces, perhaps without the word ‘specialist’, but I think we have a specialist now in Ward-Prowse. He is currently contributing to us and our results.
Two corner kicks from Ward-Prowse led to goals for Mohammed Kudus and Tomas Soucek against Backa Topola. ‘We need to get more free kicks and more corners!’ Moyes continued.
‘He has made a major contribution in all matches. It was a great start. He is an all-round team player. He’s as fit as a fiddle, he runs, he does the work. He does various jobs. We’re starting to get a group of players that we can talk about a lot.”
Moyes was asked what West Ham should do on Sunday and he said: ‘Don’t be afraid of it. Attack Liverpool as much as possible and try to challenge them.’