Latest reports in the media suggest that Saints are looking at bringing an ex Saint to St Mary's after the change of manager at the Hammers has left him out in the cold.
One man who would not have been pleased to see Nuno Espirito Santo appointed first team coach at West Ham United is James Ward-Prowse.
JWP;s time at West Ham has been rather up and down, after an average first season after joining the club from Southampton, he found himself surplus to requirements at the London Stadium and sent out on loan to Nottingham Forest, but his early games did not impress the Nuno and he was soon a bit part players, indeed in his final 3 months at the club out of 12 Premier League games he appeared in just 3, all of the bench totalling 18 minutes, convincing Nuno that he was not a player who fitted into the way he set out his teams and went back to the Hammers in January 2025 with his loan spell cut short.
He established himself back at West Ham and this season started the first 5 Premier League games, but then Nuno arrived and for the trip to Everton he found himself not only not in the side, but not even travelling with the squad for the trip to Merseyside.
Journalist Andrew Dillon on givemesport.com has revealed not only the extent of his isolation, but also that it seems that Southampton are ready to make moves to take him back to St Mary's.
Dillon claims that "Nuno has confirmed to Ward-Prowse that he has no future at West Ham and it is unlikely that he will be allowed anywhere near the first-team squad for training," a situation that will now leave the player training alone for the next 3 months.
He also says that "the 30-year-old, who is on a contract worth £115,000-per-week before bonuses, did not have an argument with Nuno when he was told that he is not in the former Nottingham Forest chief's plans following his appointment and he took the news professionally."
So in January it seems that Ward-Prowse will depart West ham, although on £115k per week and a contract that still has 21 months left to run this is likely to be a loan deal rather than a permanent transfer.
Turning 31 in just a months time and having not trained properly or played a game of any sort by the time the January window opens will leave him short of offers from the Premier League that will match his current deal.
Also West Ham struggling in a relegation battle at the moment are going to be loathe to loan him to anyone in the bottom half of the Premier League.
So it seems that the latest rumour is that he will be loaned out in January and if it is to the Championship, Saints are one of the few clubs who will be able to offer West Ham a decent deal that will cover his wages.
So there is a long way to go on this one with Ward-Prowse twiddling his thumbs for three months, but it will be interesting to see in January where Saints lie in the table and as they did two seasons ago with David Brooks & Joe Rothwell whether they will look for loans from Premier League clubs.