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BREAKING: Southampton sign Stuart Armstrong from Celtic

By Chris Hughes

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - NOVEMBER 26: James Forrest of Celtic celebrates his goal (Celtics 1st)with Stuart Armstrong during the Betfred Cup Final at Hampden Park on November 26, 2017 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images)
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - NOVEMBER 26: James Forrest of Celtic celebrates his goal (Celtics 1st)with Stuart Armstrong during the Betfred Cup Final at Hampden Park on November 26, 2017 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images) /
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Southampton Football Club have today confirmed their first signing, with midfielder Stuart Armstrong joining from Celtic.

Nearly six weeks after the Saints’ dismal 2017/18 concluded, the side have finally made their first signing of the summer, with Armstrong signing a four-year deal on the south coast.

Whilst Southampton naturally haven’t revealed the transfer fee, it’s believed that the Saints have spent around £7 million on the midfielder.

This marks the fourth time that Mark Hughes’ side have raided the Scottish champions for one of their star players since returning to the Premier League, having previously signed Virgil van Dijk, Fraser Forster and Victor Wanyama over the years.

However Armstrong is more of shrewd deal than the £10+ million spent on each of the other three, with the Scot’s contract set to expire next year. As a result, it’s been seen that the move is smart for all parties involved.

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BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – MARCH 27: Stuart Armstrong of Scotland during the International Friendly match between Hungary and Scotland at Groupama Arena on March 27, 2018 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Laszlo Szirtesi/Getty Images)
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – MARCH 27: Stuart Armstrong of Scotland during the International Friendly match between Hungary and Scotland at Groupama Arena on March 27, 2018 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Laszlo Szirtesi/Getty Images) /

However, it remains unclear what role Armstrong will have in the Southampton squad – with Dusan Tadic departing some have suggested that the 26-year-old is a straight replacement, however their new signing is much more of a natural centre-midfielder, who can push forward into the #10 role if and when needed.

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As a result it seems more like Armstrong has been brought in to replace the tiring legs of Steven Davis – in the season before last the Northern Irishman often played further ahead of two other centre-midfielders, a void that could easily be filled by the new man.

Armstrong is often tireless and works well as a box-to-box midfielder, meaning he’ll be a nice addition to the centre-of the park especially with the long Premier League season bound to require rotation.

The midfielder also has a goal in his locker too – whilst this past campaign hasn’t been as lucrative, he scored 17 in all competitions in the season beforehand.

However Southampton fans will be hoping this is the start of a host of new signings – a new winger, striker and centre-back are all needed whilst a right-back and potentially a new back-up goalkeeper would be nice too.

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