Southampton: Saints officially sign goalkeeper Angus Gunn

Earlier this evening Southampton Football Club announced their third summer signing, bringing in young goalie Angus Gunn from Manchester City.

The 22-year-old has signed a five-year deal on the south coast, joining for a reported fee between £13 and £15 million dependent on the source. It’s also been strongly reported that the Premier League champions have included a buy-back clause in his contract.

Gunn’s arrival comes after the Saints allowed Stuart Taylor to leave at the end of his deal with the club, whilst he will also potentially fill the void of Fraser Forster who it’s believed will also be moved on this summer.

Although strictly a former City player, the goalkeeper’s stock sharply rose through a loan spell with Championship side Norwich, where he played all 46 league games keeping 15 clean sheets along the way.

Next: Saints agree fee for Vestergaard

The signing of Gunn is a real show of intent from the Southampton board, as even I had preached for the club to be shrewd when bringing in a back-up stopper, suggesting a loan for Dean Henderson or a move for the experienced Icelandic Hannes Halldorsson as possible options.

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However, the club have instead spent a fair amount on the 22-year-old, who was regularly capped by England’s Under-21 side before getting the call to the senior side earlier this year.

"“We believe he has all the credentials to become a full international goalkeeper for England in the future, and that’s exactly the sort of talent we want to have here at Southampton.” – Mark Hughes"

Having spent such an amount, it begs the question as to who will start as first-choice for the club, with the board giving Alex McCarthy a fresh contract just last month. Some fans have suggested that if the latter enjoys another good season with the Saints, they will give him their blessing to move on to a new team, allowing Gunn to take the reigns in 2019.

Either way, fans will be excited to see the club continuing to show some serious intent with these signings – Gunn follows Stuart Armstrong and Mohamed Elyounoussi to the south coast this summer, taking the Saints’ spending to just shy of £40 million.

And defender Jannik Vestergaard could be soon to follow, with many expecting the towering Dane to be announced before Gunn was. Let’s hope the next time the Saints have a pack to open on Twitter, I have WiFi to be able to report!