West Ham made a surprising decision in the final week of the summer transfer window as they sent James Ward-Prowse on a season-long loan move to join Nottingham Forest. The 29-year-old joined the Hammers in a £30 million transfer move from Southampton last season and registered an impressive 18 goal contribution in his debut season at the London Stadium.
Why former Hammers star will not face West Ham in the upcoming match
Although Ward-Prowse displayed his brilliant set-piece-taking ability last season under former manager David Moyes, the box-to-box midfielder isn't a great player in creating huge goalscoring chances from the buildup play. New manager Julen Lopetegui prefers to implement a more possession-based tactical setup to create a lot of chances throughout the match, and thus, West Ham allowed Ward-Prowse to join Nottingham Forest on a loan move to get more playing time this season.
Ward-Prowse has been decent for Nuno Espirito Santo's side at the beginning of the season, but his struggles with pace and athleticism were evident against Chelsea, as he received a red-card after pulling striker Nicolas Jackson to keep him from advancing inside the box to give Chelsea the lead. Although Ward-Prowse was shown two yellow cards and missed the Crystal Palace match due to a one-match suspension, the England international could not play in the tenth league fixture against West Ham.
This is due to the fact that Ward-Prowse has joined Nottingham Forest on loan from the Hammers and thus, according to the Premier League rules, can't play against his former team. This is a significant boost for West Ham, as they have conceded a lot of goals from set-pieces this season and would have struggled to defend Ward-Prowse's perfect passes inside the box.
Moreover, in-form striker Chris Wood can also be unavailable to play in this match after picking up a foot injury in the 3-1 win over Leicester City, and thus, it remains to be seen whether manager Julen Lopetegui can secure back-to-back wins for the first time in the ongoing Premier League season.