Southampton have plenty of creative options if Leo Scienza does leave

Southampton fans waking up on Friday morning would have received a treat when looking at social media.

Indeed, Daniel Peretz's return to the Saints for good was officially confirmed, with fans of the South Coast club continuing to have their eyes glued to social media, as it has also been revealed that the Championship side wants to secure a permanent deal for Cyle Larin.

It's a good time to be a Saint supporter again, even with Spygate still rumbling in the background.

Yet, despite all these positive developments, the second-tier outfit could still be resigned to losing Leo Scienza this summer, in a big blow to their attacking department.

Scienza's potential departure

Scienza was a livewire throughout the Championship season just gone for Tonda Eckert's men.

Completing the most dribbles in the entire division at a spellbinding 59, the Brazilian also had the output to back up all his neat tricks and flicks, with seven goals and ten assists next to his name in league action.

Safe to say, it was a masterstroke of a deal to snap up the 27-year-old from Heidenheim last summer. Still, unfortunately, Scienza's stay on the South Coast might only stretch to one memorable campaign, as several Premier League onlookers are keen on his services.

He would jump at the opportunity to play in the top-flight, having called Southampton's playoff expulsion due to Spygate 'heartbreaking', and he'll have his pick of teams to choose from in making those dreams a reality, with Aston Villa, Leeds United, and Tottenham Hotspur all allegedly interested.

Southampton would no doubt dip their toes into the transfer market to try and replace a player of Scienza's creative qualities, but Eckert does already have plenty of creative options at his disposal that could soften the blow of the electric number 13 leaving St. Mary's after one short, but, sweet season.

Southampton do have other creative options

The worry with Spygate was that every player who performed well for the Saints last campaign was going to immediately abandon ship this summer.

That hasn't proved to be the case, but Southampton's near-miss with promotion will undoubtedly mean players will fancy their chances of a move up a division, anyway, with Shea Charles in a similar boat to Scienza, as Everton come knocking.

Scienza's ten assists during the regular season put him near the top of the most productive assist makers in the entire division, with only Sorba Thomas and Gus Hamer managing to collect more, at 13.

Creative duties, if the Brazilian were to up and leave, would likely fall on the shoulders of Tom Fellows and Ryan Manning, with the ex-West Bromwich Albion winger managing to tally up a promising six assists in league action this season just gone, despite not always being one of the first names on Eckert's teamsheet.

Manning was an assist machine, too, in spurts, with six assists registered from 37 league starts, with Scienza's possible departure heightening their importance to the cause.

With the likes of Samuel Edozie, who sounds raring to go ahead of next campaign kicking off, also coming in with a superb 70.45% success rate when dribbling one-on-one, it's clear that the German has some in-house replacements already up his sleeve, if Scienza is handed a Premier League shot at glory.

Southampton have become used to losing their best attackers over the years, with Adam Armstrong even leaving mid-way through the 2025/26 season, so Scienza's possible departure will hurt, but it's not the end of the world, particularly if those already situated at St. Mary's step up to the mark.

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