Southampton: Saints goalkeeper will leave club for Championship side today

Southampton goalkeeper Angus Gunn is reportedly on the verge of confirming a loan move to Championship side Stoke City today.

Via reporter Pete O’Rourke, talkSPORT’s Alex Crook and Hampshire Live’s Tom Leach, Gunn will move to the Potters on an initial season-long loan deal.

Leach also confirms that there is the potential for a permanent transfer option at the end of this current agreement, whilst O’Rourke confirms that Gunn has already passed his medical.

Saints’ goalkeeper situation has led to them wanting to move one player out since the beginning of the summer transfer window.

Alex McCarthy, Fraser Forster and Harry Lewis will now be competing for the number one shirt at St Mary’s for the rest of the 2020/21 season.

There were previous rumours that Stoke shot-stopper Jack Butland would be moving in the other direction to fight for a place in the Saints team.

However, it now appears that he will be confirmed as a Crystal Palace before the English domestic transfer window closes at 5pm this evening.

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Looking at the situation closer, there is an indication of where these swap rumours originated from.

Via transfermarkt.com, we can see that Gunn and Butland are both represented by the same player agency and there were perhaps some attempts to drum up interest before.

If Gunn has played his last game for Saints, it can be looked upon as a missed opportunity for all involved.

The former England youth international joined for around £10m from Manchester City after impressing during a loan spell in the Championship with Norwich City.

Saints then won the race to sign him and looked to be adding real quality to compete in their goalkeeping ranks.

Gunn put in some shaky displays though and his shot-stopping became a weakness over the course of the 2019/20 season – he did not win back his first-choice place from Alex McCarthy after the 9-0 loss to Leicester City.

It must be said that the Saints defending in front of him did not help his cause but it now seems that he will be forced out the door to pursue other opportunities.

Saints have also confirmed that academy graduates Josh Sims and Jake Hesketh have joined Doncaster Rovers and Crawley Town respectively on season-long loan deals.