Tottenham ‘attempt to hijack West Ham’s pursuit of James Ward-Prowse’ – after the Hammers’ £25m bid for the Southampton midfielder was rejected

Tottenham are preparing to enter the race for Southampton midfielder James-Ward Prowse and hijack West Ham’s move to the England star, according to reports.

The Saints skipper led his team to an opening win of the season against Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night, but his future at the south coast club remains unclear.

West Ham were favorites to sign the England international but after Southampton turned down a £25 million bid last week, Hammers’ move could now be hijacked by their London rivals, according to the Daily star.

Southampton are sticking to the right deal and have slapped a £40 million price tag on their head, with director of football Jason Wilcox confirming the Saints have no reason to let Ward-Prowse go.

Tottenham Hotspur looked to Ward-Prowse several times last season and could now opt for the 28-year-old if new boss Ange looks to add Postecoglou to his midfield options.

Ange Postecoglou is looking to increase his midfield options in his debut season as Spurs boss

The Australian coach has already added his top target this summer in James Maddison’s £40 million transfer from Leicester, while the club has also signed Guglielmo Vicario, Manor Solomon and Ashley Phillips.

And they didn’t stop there. Spurs are also closing in on the signing of Wolfsburg defender Micky Van de Ven in a £43 million deal.

Money remains in the pot for Tottenham to spend, and they could be further fueled by the £11m departure of Tanguy Ndombele to Galatasaray and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s possible £30m move to Atletico Madrid .

Giovani Lo Celso is also drawing interest from Aston Villa, but after impressing in pre-season, the Argentine could still be part of Postecoglou’s plans.

The club also hopes to clarify the future of Harry Kane as soon as possible. Bayern Munich have made a final £86 million bid for the England captain and have set a deadline for a decision from the north London club.

However, Spurs chief Daniel Levy has reportedly ignored the deadline set by the German club, leaving Kane in the dark about where his immediate future lies.