James Ward-Prowse has returned to West Ham after an agreement was reached with Nottingham Forest to terminate his loan early.

The Englishman has played just three times since Christmas, totalling just 18 minutes of action, and was not even in the squad for Forest’s 7-0 win over Brighton on Saturday.

Ward-Prowse joined Forest on a season-long loan in the summer after Graham Potter’s predecessor, Julen Lopetegui, told him he was not part of his plans for the Hammers’ season.

West Ham said in a statement confirming the recall: The 30-year-old England international registered seven goals and eleven assists for West Ham last season and will add experience, depth and quality to Head Coach Graham Potter’s squad for the second half of the campaign.”

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But West Ham were always keen on adding a central midfielder to their squad this month if a deal was affordable, and Forest have agreed to cancel his loan and allow him to return to the London Stadium after he made just five Premier League starts for them.

The 30-year-old Southampton academy graduate joined West Ham from Saints in August 2023 for around £30million.

He has since gone on to score seven goals and provide 11 assists in 53 appearances for the Hammers before switching to Forest last summer.

Since 2017, he has earned 11 England caps and scored twice for the national team, with all of his appearances coming during Gareth Southgate’s reign.