Southampton: Saints to release nine players at end of 2019/20 season

Southampton will be wanting to reshape their first-team squad as effectively as possible this summer to enable a successful 2020/21 season.

Links to players such as Mohammed Salisu and strong rumours of a permanent move for Kyle Walker-Peters hint that this is well underway and shows the profile of young talent they are eyeing up.

The club have also handed their initial list of players to be released at the conclusion of the 2019/20 to the Premier League.

Via premierleague.com, Saints will be releasing nine players to allow space in both the senior and academy squads.

Two of these are Cedric Soares and Maya Yoshida, who have both had permanent moves to Arsenal and Sampdoria respectively confirmed recently.

Cedric joined Saints as a replacement for the outgoing Nathaniel Clyne back in 2015 and went on to make 138 appearances in all competitions, but his initial high standards did slip significantly to label his spell on the South Coast as mixed.

More from Saints Marching

• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 2: Arrivals
• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
• It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
• Rain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle
• A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse

Yoshida’s impact was much more consistent once he had adjusted to the levels required to play in the Premier League week in, week out.

He played 194 times for Saints and became a real fans’ favourite due to his committed displays at the back and overall love for the club – emphasised by his move to give 1% of his salary to the Saints Foundation charity.

Seven players have also been released from the academy to allow space for progression from the lower age groups.

Marcus Barnes, Alexander Cull, Harlem Hale, Simon Kozak, Christian Norton, Aaron O’Driscoll and Jack Rose look set to depart the club before the first ball of the 2020/21 season is kicked.

Barnes was perhaps the closest to making his first-team bow and spent the first half of this campaign on loan with Eastleigh in the National League.

Jack Rose was signed from West Brom and expected to become a decent backup goalkeeper at St Mary’s but now looks to have left without making a first-team appearance. He spent the 2019/20 season on loan with Walsall in League Two.