Southampton haven't lost at St. Andrew's since 2009, and they kept that sparkling away record intact travelling to Birmingham City on Tuesday night.
It was a strange atmosphere in the air playing the Blues, as while the Championship clash was taking place, the chaotic transfer window still hadn't shut.
In the end, a back-and-forth 1-1 draw would be played out between the two teams, as the likes of Jay Stansfield and Cyle Larin uncharacteristically fluffed their lines for both Chris Davies' men and Tonda Eckert's visitors.
Amazingly, after the dust had settled on the competitive draw, Aaron Ramsdale remained as a Saints player, with the one-time Arsenal regular now way down the pecking order at St. Mary's.
You would have thought that a club would be willing to take a risk on the ex-Gunners stopper, but for the time being, he remarkably remains on the books of the South Coast side.
Some vocal Southampton supporters at the full-time whistle have even been calling for Ramsdale to start, when Eckert and Co. travel to Lincoln City on Saturday, with Daniel Peretz looking rather shaky so far this season in between the sticks.
Could Ramsdale replace Peretz?
The ex Bayern Munich figure hasn't quite been his usual self this season after a stunning loan stint last campaign.
Peretz would collect a standout three clean sheets from his first five Championship outings after signing from Bayern, instantly solidifying himself as the main number one option under Eckert.
This season, he has failed to keep a clean sheet from Southampton's opening four second tier contests, with the 26-year-old also leaking four goals to a youthful West Ham United outfit in the EFL Cup.
Peretz's worrying 26/27 stats (all competitions):
Stat | Peretz |
|---|---|
Games played | 6 |
Goals conceded | 9 |
Clean sheets | 1 |
He also just watched the ball hit the net at St. Andrew's when August Priske confidently connected with a sweet Patrick Roberts delivery, ridding him of a first clean sheet of the new Championship campaign.
His passing out from the back was also noticeably wayward, with only a 58% pass accuracy average registered. To make matters worse, he only managed to register eight accurate long passes all night long, from 25 attempted.
Clearly, he isn't quite playing at the same impressive levels he was last season, leading to some vocal Saints fans on social media clamouring for the shock return of Ramsdale to the starting XI.
Going to take flack for this, but I'm going to say it.
— Saints Statistics (@TheStatsSaint) September 1, 2026
We're really struggling without THB's distribution, and Peretz is having a shaky start.
If only we had a keeper at the club who could save as well as distribute...
Must play against Lincoln. 😇 pic.twitter.com/mcD4A2W1LS
At the end of the day, the forgotten keeper did average a 94% pass accurate average inside his own half in the daunting Premier League when loaned out to Newcastle United. Moreover, the 2022/23 season in the top-flight saw him gve up just 43 goals from 38 league outings.
Still, despite this intrigue forming that Ramsdale could do a job, Eckert will likely stick with what he knows for the trip to Lincolnshire, based on his post-match observations.
Eckert will likely stick with what he knows
At the full-time whistle, the matter-of-fact German reiterated that Peretz remains his number one stopper, despite some shaky performances creeping in and Ramsdale remaining on the books.
The 33-year-old said, when quizzed on the possibility of reintegrating the former England international back into his first team plans: "We've had some long conversations over the last weeks, and for me it's important because I've made a clear commitment to Daniel as a number one.
"That commitment stands."
For the time being, Eckert is remaining staunchly loyal to the number one, as he showed last season that he is a top-drawer Championship keeper when performing at his very best.
It would feel harsh, therefore, to drop him after one or two unsteady displays.
On top of that, Ramsdale has barely played football over the past couple of months, away from lining up on occasion for the Saints U21s, so it would be a tall order expecting the 28-year-old to come in and shine in such a gruelling environment.
At the moment, Peretz remains as Eckert's first choice, but if he drops a clanger away at Lincoln up next - who are languishing near the bottom of the Championship - it will be interesting to see if his patience with the £6m keeper remains so unwavering and strong.
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