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REACTION: Saints give Pellegrino assurances over the future of key players

By Ethan Evans

VALENCIA, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 07: Head coach Mauricio Pellegrino of Valencia looks on from the bench during the UEFA Champions League group F match between Valencia CF and FC BATE Borisov at Estadi de Mestalla on November 7, 2012 in Valencia, Spain. Valencia won 4-2. (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images)
VALENCIA, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 07: Head coach Mauricio Pellegrino of Valencia looks on from the bench during the UEFA Champions League group F match between Valencia CF and FC BATE Borisov at Estadi de Mestalla on November 7, 2012 in Valencia, Spain. Valencia won 4-2. (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images) /
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After the recent news and announcements, new contributor Ethan Evans ellaborates on his reactions towards the assurance of no key departures this Summer.

According to Sky Sports, recently appointed Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino has been assured over the futures of key players such as Virgil Van Dijk and Cedric Soares.

A change of direction?

There is no question that a problem for Southampton has been the difficulty to keep major stars at the club. Examples of these significant players consist of Sadio Manè, Graziano Pellè and Victor Wanyama. These being the most recent to leave for bigger clubs and more money.

Many Saints fans, like myself, may feel a lot more positive about the season to come. This is due to those promises from Les Reed. We must all hope that this helps in abolishing the ‘selling club’ stigma that surrounds the club.

Also, this story further consolidates our recent stance of being very grounded and resolute to the ‘big boys’ after Southampton reported Liverpool over their advances regarding Virgil Van Dijk. This definitely displays a different direction at the club. This is because it displays that the club certainly does have a backbone and is therefore willing to stand up for themselves.

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – MAY 17: Cedric Soares of Southampton in action during the Premier League match between Southampton and Manchester United at St Mary’s Stadium on May 17, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – MAY 17: Cedric Soares of Southampton in action during the Premier League match between Southampton and Manchester United at St Mary’s Stadium on May 17, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

Although, isn’t this just Dejà-Vu?

The main problem with this is that we’ve heard this all before. It seems that we hear statements like this every transfer window. They include Les Reed deliberating that all our key players are going to stay, and this never seems to happen.

Situations like this in recent years is resulting in fan discontent within the hierarchy at the club. One well known ‘scapegoat’ is Les Reed. Exemplified in sources such as the Daily Echo, where he clearly states how now Liverpool defender Nathanial Clyne is happy to stay. This is despite him leaving not long after.

So, to conclude, there is much promise that maybe this can be the summer that there are no key departures. This means that  we can then kick on and continue our progression next season. But, there’s always going to be that inkling that, based of prior events, it will end up badly or things won’t exactly go as planned.