It emerged on the BBC Sport website that Rafael Benitez felt that his team could no longer attract top players to the club as they were totally shadowed out by clubs with greater expenditure. Southampton has meanwhile approached Atletíco Madrid striker Luciano Vietto in a bid to bring him to the south coast.
How can Vietto & co. add to Saints?
If the likes of Vietto and company could be signed this summer, what does this then mean for Southampton’s inevitable chance come next season?
Southampton finished in a respectable position for the second consecutive season running, however, fans are now adamant that the club can now build on this with a well established Premier League reputation.
Chances – Thick or Thin?
Sure, Saints have great players of all ages and a fantastic youth system, but hasn’t it been the case for decades that teams who were likely for the drop such as Leicester won the league and those expected to compete such as Newcastle failed to secure league status?
It would, therefore, be impossible to estimate based on a season by season review how Southampton will perform next year, however, what we can access is their potential.
Bringing in Vietto to line up alongside Manolo Gabbiadini or provide significant competition could spark a new confidence in players such as James Ward-Prowse, Jordy Claisie and Steven Davis, while more composed midfielders such as Dusan Tadic and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg could provide an exceptional system for the new manager Mauricio Pellegrino.
Pellegrino joined the club in June having last managed Alaves and has since indicated his expectations for the club, having arrived at ‘first class facilities’ according to the Argentine.
@talkSPORTDrive Barkley to Southampton would be a good fit. They develop good English players. Helps the player and helps England.
— Andrew Wright (@AndyWright1980) July 12, 2017
Conclusion
If the manager balances the competition at the club with a week-in-week-out starting eleven, Saints could go far this upcoming season. Of course, this means the manager must quickly grasp his best team, which he has all of the pre-season to do.