If reports are to be believed, Southampton are currently competing for a number of players to bolster their Championship squad next season. But if Saints' manager, Will Still, and Sporting Director, Johannes Spors, wish to land significant transfer targets ahead of pre-season, they will need to address this issue quickly.
A trio of dream summer signings already identified
The first of them is Juma Bah, who would be a dream summer signing for a manager who has already worked with the young defender. Bah spent the second half of last season on loan at Lens under Still. A price tag somewhere in the region of £5 million has been suggested to prise the 19-year-old from Sierra Leone away from the Etihad.
Another player reported to be on Southampton's shortlist is the impressive French youngster Willem Geubbels. According to Mercato, Geubbels has suitors in both Germany and England. Union Berlin and FC Cologne are interested from the Bundesliga. In England, Sheffield United, Leeds United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Southampton are all thought to be keen on him.
Saints are also being linked with FC Köln's 20-year-old USA striker, Damion Downs. The player scored 11 goals in the Bundesliga second division last season, helping Die Geißböcke (the Billy Goats in English) to the title. A fee of five million euros might be enough to secure Downs' services at St Mary's.
It is unlikely that Sheffield United will part with Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, especially to a direct promotion rival, or that Fotis Ioannidis will choose to come to St Mary's with better offers sure to come in. At 25-years-old, Ionnidis is unlikely to fit the Sport Republic transfer policy of buying young.
Saints must slash their exorbitant weekly wage bill
However, before Saints splash the cash on new talent, they must first slash their wage bill. According to stats published on capology.com, Southampton's weekly payroll is almost twice that of Sheffield United, who sacked Chris Wilder yesterday. A weekly wage bill that high would be unsustainable in the Championship, without running the risk of falling foul of FFP rules.
Southampton's two highest earners, Aaron Ramsdale and Jan Bednarek earn more each work combined, than the entire first team squad of bitter south coast rivals, Portsmouth.
Any additions now would surely take the wage bill up over the one million pound a week threshold while it icould be argued that we should be operating closer to a budget of around £800,000 per week. That would keep us in with a good chance of building a squad capable of promotion, while also reducing the risk of making a financial loss.
The biggest squad in the EFL Championship
Not only that, our squad is the biggest by some margin in the Championship. Saints currently have 40 players in their squad, 16 more than 2024/25 play-off contenders Bristol City. Southampton has an overcrowded squad and an exorbitant wage bill. While it is obvious that a handful of players are about to leave St Mary's, buying now could exacerbate a growing problem.
Table showing current salary commitments of a selection of 2025/26 Championsip clubs
Club | Total Weekly Payroll | Average Weekly Salary | Squad Size |
|---|---|---|---|
Leicester City | £ 1,282,500 | £ 36,643 | 35 |
Southampton | £ 971,000 | £ 24,275 | 40 |
Sheffield United | £ 522,500 | £ 17,417 | 30 |
Coventry City | £ 246,000 | £ 9,111 | 27 |
Bristol City | £ 223,577 | £ 9,316 | 24 |
Oxford United | £ 214,115 | £ 7,137 | 30 |
Portsmouth | £ 164,750 | £ 4,992 | 33 |
The knock on impact of all this is that clubs bidding for Southampton players will be well aware of Saints' predicament. We have already seen a lower than acceptable offer for Paul Onuachu from Trabzanspor despite the player having already agreed personal terms.
Senior squad players could be pivotal in promotion push
Although Southampton have a clear transfer policy of buying young players with potential, they will need an equal measure of players who really know what it takes to get out of The EFL Championship, in their squad. Adam Armstrong, Flynn Downes, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, and even the much maligned Ryan Fraser were pivotal figures in the 2023/24 promotion season. Still may be well-advised to retain some of these senior players to help the youngsters through what is likely to be a challenging season.
These next few weeks are pivotal for Still and Spors. Saints fans should expect a minimum of five players to leave by the time the tennis at Wimbledon has finished. Following Onuachu quickly out of St Mary's will probably be, Joe Aribo, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Aaron Ramsdale and Jan Bednarek. Selling those five players alone would reduce the weekly payroll by £330,000 to £641,000.
In terms of the weekly wage bill, it doesn't make much sense to sell Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Tyler Dibling, or even 'Matty' Fernandes. However, good offers for any of these three could free up much needed funds for Still to rebuild his squad.
Before Southampton compete fully in this summer's transfer market, they must first reduce the wage bill and free up some spaces in the Staplewood car park!