There was a sense of inevitability in the air at Southampton that James Ward-Prowse would move from the Saints, especially in the wake of the club’s relegation to the Championship.
Ward-Prowse had almost become synonymous with St Mary’s, a one-club man who could singlehandedly turn a game around for his side with a bit of flair – the 29-year-old making 410 appearances for the club in total, scoring 55 times.
West Ham United would swoop in and sign the Saints star for £30m in the summer, a transfer deal that could have completely derailed Southampton’s attempts to win promotion straight back to the Premier League.
However, Russell Martin’s men – 19 games into the second tier season – aren’t feeling the after-effects of Ward-Prowse’s exit whatsoever with this new central midfield gem slotting into the line-up seamlessly and replacing the former Saints number eight with ease.
Indeed, Flynn Downes has become an instant fan favourite at St Mary’s, Southampton winning the deal to offload Ward-Prowse to the Hammers by gaining Downes on loan from the London Stadium for the season.
Even when the former Swansea City man has a relatively quiet game – as was the case in Southampton’s last match versus Cardiff City – Downes shows off his Premier League-level qualities.
Flynn Downes’ game vs Cardiff in numbers
Downes has been instrumental in the centre of the park for his new employers, Martin’s possession-heavy style of football dictates that a midfielder such as the 24-year-old is constantly on the ball and present.
Against Cardiff last match, Downes amassed an astounding 110 touches in the centre of a midfield trio as per Sofascore alongside Stuart Armstrong and Shea Charles.
Yet, only two of the West Ham loanee’s passes on the day were key with many of his touches and subsequent passes not resulting in a move flickering into life to unlock the Cardiff defence. Rather, Downes just ensured his side kept their fair share of the ball – Martin’s men having 64% of the possession against the Bluebirds.
Charles and Armstrong were far more involved, leading to Downes picking up an average 6.8 Sofascore rating for his efforts in the uneventful and straightforward 2-0 win.
Downes does, however, shine and lead from the front for the Saints more times than not, the 24-year-old’s style of play baring similarities to Ward-Prowse during his hay day on the South Coast.
Flynn Downes’ statistics this season
The midfielder is unerringly composed on the ball, completing 71.9 accurate passes per 90 minutes this season in the Championship.
Labelled as an “outstanding” footballer by his manager after joining the club, he’s also ‘really brave’ with or without the ball at his feet – Martin managing Downes at Swansea before taking the reins at Southampton – the 24-year-old is proving to be just that for the promotion chasers.
The Hammers loanee is always involved in passing moves and constantly alert, Downes does only have one assist to date but the Saints number four is always available to receive a pass to play someone into space.
Without Downes in the middle of the park, the Saints would arguably lose the glue keeping everything together and ticking over.
The midfield maestro will continue showing off his silky skills on the St Mary’s turf, hoping that he can help his short-term employers win promotion back up to the top flight.
Downes will also want to get in on the act going forward by breaking his Southampton goalscoring duck, but the ex-Swans man isn’t renowned for his goalscoring prowess with only four goals scored in his professional career to date.
Still, the understated midfield gem will continue plugging away as a key figure for a resurgent and new Southampton team succeeding without Ward-Prowse.
