Moyes lauds West Ham newbie for giving them ‘another dimension’ following Rice’s exit | OneFootball

West Ham manager David Moyes

Head coach David Moyes believes summer signing James Ward-Prowse has given West Ham “another dimension” following his move from Southampton.

The England international looks like one of the bargains of the season in the Premier League. He has grabbed two goals and five assists in his first five appearances following his £30million switch from the Saints.

The 28-year-old has softened the blow of West Ham losing captain Declan Rice to Arsenal for £105million earlier this summer.

Moyes likened Ward-Prowse to two former free-scoring England midfielders – and one Scot with an eye for goal – as he looks to build on a strong start to the season.

“I always thought from the start he would be ideal – I would never use the word replacement because I don’t think you can replace Declan with one player – but James has given us another dimension,” said Moyes.

“He’s played well. He’s added goals and assists. The top-scoring midfield players – maybe Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, I would go back longer to people like John Wark – and James might not get as many goals as them but he might get more assists than them so what he’s doing is really good for us.”

Two Ward-Prowse corners led to goals for Mohammed Kudus and Tomas Soucek as West Ham came from behind to beat Serbian side TSC Backa Topola 3-1 in their Europa League opener.

“His delivery has been excellent over the last few years,” added Moyes.

“We’ve been a decent side from set-pieces, maybe without the word ‘specialist’ delivery, and I think we’ve got a specialist now in Ward-Prowse.

“We need to get more free-kicks and more corners. He’s made big contributions in all the games. It’s been an amazing start really.

“I remember people asking the question after one or two games and it’s now five or six games and we’re still saying the same thing about him making a great contribution.”