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Southampton: Opinion – Saints must press on with business

By Chris Hughes

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 23: Fraser Forster of Southampton gives his eam instructions during the Premier League match between Southampton and Huddersfield Town at St Mary's Stadium on December 23, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 23: Fraser Forster of Southampton gives his eam instructions during the Premier League match between Southampton and Huddersfield Town at St Mary's Stadium on December 23, 2017 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) /
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With the 2017/18 season now a distant memory and the summer staring us dead in the eye, Southampton must crack on with business pronto.

This off-season will be massive for the Saints, it’s as simple as that. As addressed in my wishlist which went live this morning, a lot of Southampton’s failures this season came from incredibly poor dealings in the transfer market in both January and in the summer beforehand.

When you also consider that nearly half-a-dozen first team players could be making their way through the exit door as well, it’s safe to say that the club need to get their deals across the line quick.

This year, for the first time, the transfer window is already officially open, but will close in early August in order for Premier League sides to have complete squads by the time the season begins. With that being said, players can still move abroad right up until the end of August as other European leagues haven’t changed their windows.

Next: Summer wishlist - Chris Hughes

LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 08: Ryan Bertrand of Southampton in action during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Southampton at Emirates Stadium on April 8, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 08: Ryan Bertrand of Southampton in action during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Southampton at Emirates Stadium on April 8, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

Nonetheless, the Saints have gained a reputation among their own supporters for not completing the bulk of their transfer business until late in the window. Last summer both Wesley Hoedt and Mario Lemina joined in August, nearly six weeks after the club first brought in Jan Bednarek.

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Part of what may of delayed such business was the issue regarding a manager – despite the season finishing in mid-May the club didn’t sack Puel for nearly a month and then it took another week or so to appoint Mauricio Pellegrino.

This time around however, Mark Hughes has already been tied down before the month of May is over, meaning they have clear skies between now and the start of the season – no distractions, no transfer sagas.

There are a couple of players who the club should just swallow their pride and sell, in my opinion. Among those are Ryan Bertrand, who has looked disinterested all season – and Dusan Tadic, who despite being an experienced player simply hasn’t delivered on a regular basis for the past two years.

Rather than dragging their heels the club need to just get on with their sales this time around, as it’s proved that for the most part, keeping a player against their will can have a negative effect on the whole squad.

Assuming this all goes to plan, they can press on with bringing in new talent sooner rather than later – perhaps setting the pre-season tour of China as a date to have business completed by.

This allows plenty of time for players to bed, tactics to be learnt, and for the squad to harmonize before a massive season ahead for the Saints!