As we head ever closer to July, the new Championship campaign will soon hit the calendar.
Indeed, the opening weekend of the season will come about on the 14th-16th of August, as the likes of West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers acclimatise back to the gruelling nature of the entertaining division.
For Southampton, it will be about righting the wrongs of last season's agony with Spygate, as they look to be in the promotion reckoning next to the recently relegated teams.
While it looks likely that they will have to gun for promotion without Shea Charles on their side, it isn't a complete foregone conclusion that Leo Scienza will be walking away from the South Coast this off-season.
Will Scienza leave this summer?
Reports suggest that it will take a substantial £25m for the standout Brazilian to depart the South Coast after one mightily impressive season, with that high amount his alleged release clause.
Collecting seven goals and ten assists in the Championship could well be enough for a Premier League suitor to splash the cash on Scienza, but he hasn't always been this productive in front of goal.
While it now looks like an inspired gamble to pick up Scienza for £1m last summer, some eyebrows would've been raised when the signing was announced, as he had only collected three goals and three assists during the regular season for Heidenheim before joining.
At 27 years of age, too, with his 28th birthday falling in September, the Saints number 13 isn't exactly a new kid off the block, with Premier League clubs perhaps opting for fresher and up-and-coming talents, over landing the in-form attacker.
If a Premier League club were to make an approach, Scienza would surely jump at the opportunity to play in the promised land of the English top-flight.
Yet, he doesn't seem to be too preoccupied by this fantasy of winning himself a big move, based on this recent Saints social media post.
Southampton fans will be encouraged by his social media post
With fixture release day occurring this week, the Southampton social media pages have been inundated with content revolving around who the Saints will play during the opening parts of the campaign.
Some Southampton players have cheekily said that they would love to play Middlesbrough on the opening day, as the Spygate scandal still simmers.
They asked Scienza, too, with Saints fans getting giddy that the Brazilian mentioning the season ahead means he could stay put.
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) June 23, 2026
He said "Definitely Pompey", with the much-loved South American scoring in a fierce Fratton Park contest back in January.
Hopefully, he has more memorable moments to come in the always hot-headed South Coast Derby, as Southampton potentially flex their ability, again, to keep their most prized assets, despite a four-point deduction greeting them when the first ball is kicked.
Of course, the eternal pessimist will just fight back and say that the number 13 has been asked to respond, with certain players taking part in these positive PR moves, all while leaving shortly after.
For the more rose-tinted among us, this will be latched onto as a crumb of comfort that Scienza will remain a Southampton player.
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