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Southampton: Lack of early business could cost the Saints

By Edward Waugh

HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND - AUGUST 26: Mario Lemina of Southampton attempts to take the ball past Christopher Schindler of Huddersfield Town during the Premier League match between Huddersfield Town and Southampton at John Smith's Stadium on August 26, 2017 in Huddersfield, England. (Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images)
HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND - AUGUST 26: Mario Lemina of Southampton attempts to take the ball past Christopher Schindler of Huddersfield Town during the Premier League match between Huddersfield Town and Southampton at John Smith's Stadium on August 26, 2017 in Huddersfield, England. (Photo by Nigel Roddis/Getty Images) /
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With it being the time of year for transfer speculation and pre-transfer window moves being made, there is very much anticipation in the air as to who and positionally Southampton will invest in – with many names already being linked to move to the south coast club.

Following what was a very difficult season for the Saints, the club now finds themselves in a situation where major investment is needed in order to push themselves back in the right direction, having fought the depths of the Premier League to maintain top flight status.

In order to do this, the club’s hierarchy will need to show ruthlessness by acquiring top-talent from great negotiating, this due to Southampton having limited pulling power and resources compared to other clubs looking to finish in the positions that Saints aspire to be.

With the World Cup quite literally round the corner this week, it would’ve been more ideal for at least one or maybe two new arrivals to have been handed the ‘red and white’ shirt to not only help them focus on their careers on the south-coast, but mainly to keep costs and interest down for these potential targets.

The likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Nils Petersen and Andrej Kramaric to name a few (identified as potential targets for our summer wish lists), will all play a part in the upcoming tournament, and if by chance they have standout performances then Southampton could struggle to bring in players of that calibre – which is now desperately needed to compete.

WIGAN, ENGLAND – MARCH 18: Mario Lemina of Southampton is chased by Sam Morsy of Wigan Athletic during The Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Wigan Athletic and Southampton at DW Stadium on March 18, 2018 in Wigan, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
WIGAN, ENGLAND – MARCH 18: Mario Lemina of Southampton is chased by Sam Morsy of Wigan Athletic during The Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Wigan Athletic and Southampton at DW Stadium on March 18, 2018 in Wigan, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) /

With this, the potential departures of players such as Mario Lemina would mean that the club would need to replace the midfielder with someone equally as good, if not better in order to go one better than last season – though this is not easily done, and if not done quickly enough could leave Southampton in a situation were the squad is weaker than the year before.

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The failure of this happening again won’t spell any success for Southampton and could all but condemn another difficult season, but with a worse outcome due to overcoming very difficult odds from the previous campaign.

This is not to say that the Southampton hierarchy are not busy trying to acquire new talent, which knowing the recruitment system the club possesses, has unearthed some gems in the past such as the likes of Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk and Cedric Soares have proven all well-advised priced purchases.

Furthermore, with the market becoming more competitive and costly each passing campaign, Southampton should’ve or will need to stamp their authority from this point on, on a few upcoming stars or experienced players in order to avoid being outrun by their rivals in the race for a top-half or European-spot finish and therefore it could be more of a uphill battle