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James Ward-Prowse

Ward-Prowse playing for Southampton in 2012
Personal information
Full name	James Michael Edward Ward-Prowse
Date of birth	(1994-11-01) 1 November 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth	Portsmouth, Hampshire; England
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Southampton
Number	16
Youth career
2003–2011	Southampton
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–	Southampton	68	(1)
International career
2010–2011	England U17	7	(0)
2012–2013	England U19	4	(0)
2013	England U20	4	(0)
2013–	England U21	15	(4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:31, 5 April 2015 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:42, 30 March 2015 (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 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 before becoming a regular in the Southampton team. 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, a Farlington-based barrister. Although his family are Portsmouth supporters, he joined Southampton at the age of eight.

Club 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. 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. 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. 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.

2012–13 season

Assigned the squad number 16, 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. After the game, his performance was described by then-manager Nigel Adkins as "outstanding". After a substitute appearance against Wigan Athletic, 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. 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.

In February 2013, the young midfielder was briefly linked with a loan move to League One side Coventry City. 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 impressively to secure the win for the visitors. 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.

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". 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.

2013–14 season

At the beginning of the 2013–14 season, after a brief rumour regarding a potential loan move to nearby Championship side Bournemouth, 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 Rickie Lambert. 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 dramatic late equaliser by centre-back José Fonte.

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. He signed a new long-term contract (five-and-a-half years) in January 2015.

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. 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.

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. He played for 64 minutes in the first match, and for the full 90 against Finland, in which he had some of England's most clear goal-scoring opportunities. He scored his first under-21 goal on 15 October, scoring a free-kick from 20 yards in a 5–0 win against Lithuania. During the 2014 Toulon Tournament, he scored a "stunning" free-kick against Brazil during the group stages. This was later voted "Goal of the Tournament"; Ward-Prowse was also voted as one of the best three players in the tournament.

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

Career statistics

As of 5 April 2015

References

1. "Premier League Clubs submit Squad Lists" (PDF). Premier League. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
2. ^ "James Ward-Prowse". Player Profiles. Southampton F.C. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
3. ^ Walter, Simon (27 October 2011). "Why teenager James ditched Pompey for Saints". Southern Echo. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
4. "John Ward-Prowse". Legal Hub. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
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. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
18. "Sent to Coventry: James Ward-Prowse set to leave Southampton on loan". Daily Mirror. 3 February 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
19. Sheringham, Sam (2 March 2013). "Southampton 1–2 QPR". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
20. Ornstein, David (12 May 2013). "Sunderland 1–1 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
21. "Southampton: James Ward-Prowse desperate for game time". BBC Sport. 11 June 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
22. "Morgan Does the Double!". Southampton F.C. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
23. Carter, Simon (19 June 2013). "Ward-Prowse linked with Cherries loan move". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 14 September 2013. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
24. Johnston, Neil (17 August 2013). "West Brom 0–1 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
25. Hassan, Neil (24 August 2013). "Southampton 1–1 Sunderland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
26. "Southampton's James Ward-Prowse out for 10 weeks". BBC Sport. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
27. "James Ward-Prowse signs new long-term Southampton deal". BBC Sport. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
28. ^ "James Ward-Prowse". England Players. The Football Association. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
29. "James Ward-Prowse gets first England Under-21s call-up". BBC Sport. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
30. "England U21s beat Moldova in Gareth Southgate's first game". BBC Sport. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
31. "Saido Berahino nets in England U21 draw with Finland". BBC Sport. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
32. "England U21 5–0 Lithuania U21" BBC Sport. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
33. "James Ward-Prowse wishes free-kick was the winner". The FA. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
34. Urquhart-Cannon, Alex (2 June 2014). "Ward-Prowse wins two Toulon trophies". Southampton FC. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
35. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32183150
36. "Games played by James Ward-Prowse in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
37. "Games played by James Ward-Prowse in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
38. "Games played by James Ward-Prowse in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
39. "Games played by James Ward-Prowse in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 20 September 2014.

External links

• Southampton F.C. profile
• ESPN profile
• James Ward-Prowse at Soccerbase

Template:Persondata

• Use dmy dates from September 2013
• 1994 births
• Living people
• Association football midfielders
• England youth international footballers
• England under-21 international footballers
• English footballers
• People from Portsmouth
• Premier League players
• Southampton F.C. players