Liverpool are reportedly among the clubs to have sent scouts to keep an eye on Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse.
The dead-ball specialist has enjoyed another productive campaign on the South Coast, registering nine goals and three assists from 35 matches in all competitions.
Ward-Prowse has come up with seven goals and two assists in 28 Premier League contests, although his team are mired in relegation danger as they sit rock bottom of the Premier League table.
The Saints are only two points worse off than Leicester City in the safety of 17th spot, but their survival is out of their own hands, as most of their relegation rivals have at least one or two games in hand.
Should Ruben Selles's side be demoted from the top flight, Ward-Prowse is expected to depart in order to continue in the Premier League, and he will not be short of suitors this summer.
According to Football Insider, a host of clubs have been keeping an eye on Ward-Prowse through scouts this season, and Liverpool are among the teams to be watching him closely.
The Reds are set for a major midfield reshuffle for the 2023-24 season, but they will unsurprisingly face stiff competition to bring the England international to Anfield.
Manchester United and Newcastle United - both of whom possess more financial firepower - are also in the running to sign Ward-Prowse, who has been with Southampton since the age of eight.
The midfielder is under contract at St Mary's until the summer of 2026, but a fee of £40m could apparently do the trick if Southampton are demoted from the top flight.
Ward-Prowse will soon celebrate his 20-year anniversary as a Southampton player, having joined their academy in 2003, and he has made 399 senior appearances for the club since coming through the youth teams.
Ward-Prowse has scored 53 goals and set up 51 more for the Saints in all competitions, with 17 of those goals coming via a free kick in the Premier League, one short of David Beckham's record of 18.
The 28-year-old is in line to make his 400th appearance for Southampton against West Ham United on Sunday, as Liverpool prepare to part ways with up to three long-serving midfielders this summer.
While Arthur is set to return to Juventus at the end of his nightmare loan spell, all of Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are due to leave as free agents when their contracts expire in June.
Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain will likely be allowed to leave, but Jurgen Klopp is supposedly pushing for the Liverpool board to offer Milner a new one-year contract.
The Reds are still pursuing Jude Bellingham as their number one target, but they are said to be increasingly unlikely to sign the 19-year-old given the finances needed to pull off an extortionate nine-figure deal. body check tags ::
