West Ham United have signed agreements worth around £60 million for Manchester United’s Harry Maguire and Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse.
Each transaction is estimated to be valued around £30 million.
Maguire, 30, struggled for first-team appearances at Old Trafford last season and has since been stripped of the leadership.
He is said to be eager to relocate, with personal details still to be worked out but not likely to be a problem.
Maguire joined United in August 2019 for a world record fee of £80 million.
West Ham have been trying to acquire Ward-Prowse for the majority of the summer, but Southampton, who were relegated to the Championship last season, had previously rebuffed their offers.
However, it appeared inevitable that Southampton would lose their captain, and this now appears to be the case.
Maguire’s fall from grace at Manchester United
West Ham United are looking to add to their roster after selling England midfielder Declan Rice to Arsenal for £105 million and Italy striker Gianluca Scamacca to Atalanta for £21.5 million.
Hammers manager David Moyes is close to acquiring Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez as a replacement for Rice and has been linked with a deal for Manchester United’s Scott McTominay.
Maguire appeared in 30 games for United last season, but made only eight league starts.
He was potentially the fifth option central defender at Old Trafford, after Lisandro Martinez, Rafael Varane, Victor Lindelof, and Luke Shaw.
After removing him as captain, Erik ten Hag stated that Maguire was a “important player” who could “fight his way into the team.”
During a pre-season friendly against Borussia Dortmund, though, the defender was booed by United fans and yelled at by new goalie Andre Onana.
Despite his troubles at Manchester United, Maguire has been a consistent starter for England under Gareth Southgate, starting all five World Cup games in 2022.
Ward-Prowse began Southampton’s Championship opener against Sheffield Wednesday on Friday but did not appear in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup first-round loss at Gillingham.
Rice’s exit leaves West Ham without a clear captain, and Moyes has yet to name a replacement, but Maguire and Ward-Prowse offer two choices.
Nayef Aguerd and Kurt Zouma, the current first-choice center defenders, have both been injured in recent months.
Manchester City have made an initial contact for Hammers midfielder Lucas Paqueta, but no deal has yet been made.
