Nottingham Forest battle Southampton for midfielder on course for Premier League record

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Nottingham Forest are going to do battle with Southampton for a player who takes a mean set-piece on deadline day.

Strap yourselves in Forest fans, it promises to be one hell of a ride!

This time last year, Forest added seven new players to their ranks and Steve Cooper splashed out £30 million on Ibrahim Sangare.

With Forest enjoying a less frantic summer this time around, it doesn’t look as though there will be quite so many new players arriving at the City Ground today.

However, a few are being eyed by the club, with striker Omar Marmoush in the sights of Forest as well as a goalkeeper – and possibly a midfielder.

• READ MORE: Nottingham Forest want striker with advanced talks underway

Nottingham Forest battle Southampton for James Ward-Prowse

According to Fabrizio Romano, Forest have added James Ward-Prowse to their list of transfer possibilities ahead of the deadline tonight.

He claims that although Forest do like the midfielder, there is no suggestion just yet whether or not West Ham are willing to let him leave.

The Hammers only signed Ward-Prowse last summer but Julen Lopetegui doesn’t seem to fancy him and he’s played for just 16 minutes in the first two Premier League matches under the Spaniard.

However, Forest won’t be alone in this race on deadline day.

Give Me Sport claims that his former club Southampton are also in the mix to sign the man who left St Mary’s following over 400 appearances last summer.

Ward-Prowse is a deadly set-piece specialist and he is only two free-kicks away from breaking David Beckham’s record in the Premier League.

Ashley Cole is also a huge fan of the midfielder, calling him ‘special’ back in August 2023 following his West Ham debut.

Ward-Prowse would be quality signing for Forest

This would be quite the statement for Forest and it should finally see the club improve when it comes to scoring goals from set-pieces.

Ward-Prowse could provide some leadership qualities, whilst he’s been around the Premier League for a number of years too.

The 29-year-old enjoyed a solid first season at West Ham, scoring seven goals and claiming 11 assists for the Hammers as they missed out on Europe.

Now, Lopetegui might choose to shuffle his pace a bit on deadline day and that could help Forest in their quest to land the player.

One stumbling block might be his wages. Ward-Prowse collects £115,000-a-week from West Ham and if they let him go on loan they will want a large chunk of that paying.