In his Southampton farewell video, there was a clip of a teenage James Ward-Prowse revealing two profession goals: to get a scholarship with the Saints and to play for England. Internally, there was one other dream – and that was to be David Beckham.

Not much like David Beckham, or near David Beckham. To truly be him.

“I copied a few of his hairstyles along the way,” the midfielder tells Sky Sports about his childhood days. “I went for the mohican, the grade two all over.”

The midfielder’s long-term affiliation with Beckham by free-kick-taking has been lengthy recognized and talked about. But the hyperlink between the pair went up a notch when Ward-Prowse took the No 7 shirt at new membership West Ham, following his £30m transfer from Southampton.

Needless to say that the 28-year-old has been sporting that quantity on his again for years given his long-term fandom of Beckham.

“To emulate him in that way with the No 7 is a good opportunity as he was someone I emulated growing up in the garden,” Ward-Prowse says when requested about his new squad quantity and its hyperlink to his childhood hero.

“It was simply on the whole, the way in which that he was. I’d watch his recreation on the TV reside and I’d be straight out within the backyard making an attempt to good it, shouting ‘Beckham’!

“It was the classic Mum calling you in for dinner but I wanted to keep practicing. And I smashed a few greenhouses along the way!

“But it is all been value it – each time Mum jogs my memory of that, I say, ‘take a look at the place doing these issues have gotten me now’.”

And look the place he’s now. Ward-Prowse stands one away from equalling Beckham’s all-time Premier League document for free-kick objectives. All the hours spent in his mother and father’ backyard on the south coast have paid off.

The midfielder speaks commonly about his profession going full circle. For instance, that scene of his mom calling him again in from free-kick observe? That’s now him, along with his toddler son Oscar starting his first steps into youth soccer.

“He obviously sees his dad up close doing it on a weekly basis and it’s nice seeing him start his love for the game,” says a proud Ward Prowse Snr.

But equalling after which eclipsing Beckham’s document could be the top full orbit round Ward-Prowse’s life. Does that create stress on the following free-kick?

“Not really,” Ward-Prowse replies. “Because you have lots of pressures day to day anyway.

“It’s at the back of my thoughts for positive however after all it is one thing I’m aiming for. But what will likely be, will likely be.”

Expectation, place and stereotypes

Even then, Ward-Prowse does find yourself talking candidly in regards to the pressures of being a free-kick specialist. He names three on this dialog.

The first is the expectation. “You feel the stadium sort of expecting it,” says Ward-Prowse when speaking about stepping as much as the free-kick mark. “Which is a good thing but also a bad thing as I can’t be perfect every time.”

Then, comes the precise approach. It has not gone unnoticed that each single one in every of Ward-Prowse’s free-kick objectives have come from the left of the world, or lifeless centre. None have come from the suitable channel.

“Someone’s been looking at my stats!” Ward-Prowse cheekily says when this journalist places that information to him. “And the stats would recommend that [I struggle from the right], yeah.

“But I am really confident in my ability, I’ve taken a lot of free-kicks down the years and I know what works, and what doesn’t.”

And thirdly comes the sensation that Ward-Prowse is just recognized for his set-piece potential. “I believe that maybe I do get stereotyped with that set-piece thing,” he says. “But it’s up to me to show people that I can do more than that.”

But that is the place West Ham are available in. Yes, the Hammers confirmed final season they will covert set-pieces properly – scoring 11 objectives from their 20 photographs from dead-ball eventualities within the marketing campaign.

But Ward-Prowse reveals his early conversations with David Moyes have included the midfielder’s all-round recreation, not simply his set performs.

“I’ve worked very hard over the course of my career to work on lots of different things, not just the set-pieces,” says the participant.

“Having spoken to the supervisor, there are different qualities inside that I’ve been introduced in for as properly.

“I played against West Ham quite a few times over the years so I know what a West Ham team and what a West Ham player looks like. It’s built on that hard work and never-say-die attitude and you can feel that from the fans.

“Playing in opposition to a David Moyes crew, you already know you are going to be working in opposition to a crew that’s well-organised, exhausting to beat and ruthless on the counter-attack. That’s what we’ll be engaged on over the following few weeks.”

England goals and a dream debut?

There are longer-term aspirations for Ward-Prowse, especially at international level. The midfielder was dropped from the England squad for the last two international tournaments. Once is understandable, twice is hard to take.

“It was powerful, however that is soccer, issues do not all the time work out in the way in which that you just wish to,” says Ward-Prowse. “I may management my performances within the lead-up to these tournaments for Southampton and I used to be proud of them.

“But ultimately it’s not my decision and the focus comes back to me and what I can do for club level. But if I do that to he best of my ability, England and international football will come.

“It solely provides me extra motivation to play even higher in your membership and improve your probabilities. The onus is on me now.

“Just getting the move to West Ham isn’t a guarantee I can get to the Euros. I still have to go out and perform to the best of my ability. There are no guarantees in football.”

For now, similar to he was in his mother and father’ backyard, Ward-Prowse is imagining himself in Beckham mode once more. A free-kick on his West Ham debut, at dwelling to Chelsea in a London derby, in entrance of the Sky Sports cameras, to equal the Beckham document.

“That’s the dream, it’s something I’ve been thinking about all for the whole week really,” he admits.

“But you can’t control when those things will happen. You don’t get many free-kicks in a game so you have to make sure when you have them, you make the most of the opportunity.”

Should Ward-Prowse stand over the ball in Sunday’s London derby, there will likely be that almighty hush across the dwelling crowd. Will there be a roar to observe? Let’s discover out…

Watch James Ward-Prowse’s West Ham debut at dwelling to Chelsea reside on Sky Sports’ Super Sunday this weekend; kick-off 4.30pm