West Ham Confirm Exits of James Ward-Prowse and El Hadji Malick Diouf

West Ham have confirmed the departures of two first-team players in one day, with James Ward-Prowse returning to Southampton and El Hadji Malick Diouf joining Brentford.

Ward-Prowse, who left Southampton for West Ham in a £30m deal back in 2023, returns to St Mary's for a nominal fee reported at under £1 million, three years on from his original departure. The 31-year-old spent last season on loan at Nottingham Forest and Burnley, and was frozen out of Nuno Espirito Santo's plans at the London Stadium, missing out on selection even for a heavily rotated Carabao Cup squad against Southampton this week. He returns to the club where he made 409 appearances and scored 55 goals, and could feature again as soon as Millwall's visit to St Mary's this weekend.

Diouf, meanwhile, completes a move to Brentford worth a reported £35 million plus £5 million in add-ons, having previously been given permission to undergo his medical. The Senegalese full-back becomes another significant sale for West Ham as Nuno continues to reshape his squad heading into the final days of the transfer window.

Both exits reflect a busy end to the window at the London Stadium, with West Ham balancing squad rebuilding against raising funds through player sales.