Southampton: Saints in talks to sign Premier League midfielder on loan

Southampton are reportedly in talks with Everton over a potential loan move to St Mary’s for midfielder Tom Davies.

According to talkSPORT’s Alex Crook, Saints are keen to bring in the England youth international on a season-long deal to fill their midfield void.

Davies has been linked with a permanent move to Newcastle in the last week and could be keen to move on from Goodison Park – either temporarily or permanently – to get first-team football this season.

Everton have been very active in the transfer market and have bolstered their midfield ranks with by bringing in Allan, Abdoulaye Doucoure and James Rodriguez in this window.

This only makes it harder for Davies to get the games that he will want and Saints may sense an opportunity.

For Saints fans, this will not be an inspiring move by the club as they look to add more quality to their squad.

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

Davies’ form at the end of the 2019/20 campaign was criticised by Everton fans and he looks to have fallen well down the pecking order because of his inability to replicate previous showings that saw him as one of the top-flight’s best young prospects a few years ago.

It is important to recognise that this will not just be a panic move by Saints – that is not how they work. Davies will have been on their radar for a while because of the potential for this situation to arise.

His performances when he was breaking into first-team football will have been impressive to those on the South Coast and they will sense a real opportunity in trying to help him get back to his former levels.

Via running stats from Sky Sports on the 2019/20 season, we can see that Davies averaged 7.5km per 90 minutes. This is a respectable amount, but he will surely have to improve these stats if he is to be a success with Saints.

James Ward-Prowse ran the most of any player in the whole Premier League during the previous campaign and averaged 8.8km per each 90 minutes he played.

Via fbref.com, we can also see that Davies’ figures for passing, creativity and pressing from last season are average. However, his energy in central areas is perhaps something that Saints can work with to turn him into the ideal player for them.