Aston Villa ‘set to bid for Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse’ after closing in on £40m Emi Buendia

Aston Villa are reportedly set to make an offer for Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse,  

Dean Smith’s side are closing in on the signing of Norwich attacking midfielder Emiliano Buendia for a club-record £40million, with the Argentine having a medical after agreeing personal terms.

And according to the Sun, Villa are not done there, with an offer for Saints star Ward-Prowse part of their plan to get their summer transfer business concluded quickly.

Aston Villa are reportedly set to make a bid for Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse

The West Midlands side are close to confirming the capture of Norwich star Emiliano Buendia

The West Midlands outfit’s capture of Buendia is expected to be confirmed shortly, with the club set to table a bid for Ward-Prowse – who signed a five-year contract last August – at some point this week.

Smith is said to be targeting set-piece specialist Ward-Prowse to improve his side’s prowess from dead-ball situations, with a striker also on the shopping list if they can confirm the signings of Ward-Prowse and Buendia to strengthen their midfield.

Ward-Prowse, who has made 322 appearances and scored 33 goals in all competitions for Southampton, won Players’ Player and Fans’ Player of the Year after notching nine goals in 44 matches this campaign.

Villa boss Dean Smith (pictured) is said to be impressed by the Saints star’s set-piece ability

Liverpool are also understood to be keen on signing the 26-year-old, but given that Villa are set to see off Arsenal in the chase for Buendia, that may not worry them, with regular first-team action more likely at Villa than the Reds. 

The England midfielder, who came on in his country’s first Euro 2020 warm-up match against Austria on Wednesday, was left out of the 26-man squad but was named by manager Gareth Southgate as one of the six backup players.

He will hope to be called up as the injury replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold, which will be announced after England’s second and final pre-tournament friendly against Romania on Sunday.

Seven-cap international Ward-Prowse, who scored his first international goal against San Marino in a 5-0 win in World Cup qualifying in March, could feature in that match.

The seven-cap midfielder hopes to be called up by England to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold