Daniel Peretz stood out as one of Southampton's star performers during the second half of the Championship campaign just gone.
While everything has now been doused in the sadness of the Saints' Spygate scandal coming to light, Peretz's performances are still worth mentioning for praise, as he managed to keep nine clean sheets, despite joining the St. Mary's camp mid-way through the season.
In an amazing turn of events, too, he could be up for the idea of staying put on the South Coast, past this season, even with the Saints' promotion chances being thrown in the bin and a points deduction coming into effect.
Could Peretz still sign a permanent Saints deal?
Reports did seem to suggest that the Israel international would just be retreating back to Bayern Munich after an inspired loan stay in England.
Indeed, with Southampton's promotion hopes being dashed so cruelly, this turn of events made sense, with a deal for the Saints to snap up Peretz permanently looking to have fallen to the wayside, due to Spygate.
However, in a new interview, Peretz seemed open to the idea of calling Southampton his permanent abode after all, stating that he doesn't have a "bad word" to say about the club, and that he had an "amazing time" calling St. Mary's home.
Daniel Peretz speaks out for the first time about the scandal that rocked English football 🚨
— Sport5 (@sport5il) May 25, 2026
"The sporting director updated us on how the hearing ended, which is where we received the news. It's frustrating, it's hard; we got there and it was taken away from us. We have no way… pic.twitter.com/ZtDCQGbi8O
Moreover, with Peretz noting that he needs to think things over with a "clear head", he definitely isn't ruling out the shock prospect of a return to English shores.
With it also being very unlikely that the 25-year-old will go on to make the first team grade at Bayern in the near future, it could be a shock signing, which is logical, as Peretz clearly saw a long-term future on the South Coast before all these spying revelations were exposed.
Ir's not just Peretz Southampton should be looking to tie down to a deal, as an uncertain new campaign looms on the horizon...
Southampton must look to keep this star around as well
A spine of experienced battlers could be just what Southampton needs next season to lift themselves out of the mire.
If that's the route they're going down, it's a no-brainer decision to try and keep James Bree situated at St. Mary's, with the ex-Luton Town defender a real fan favourite during the second half of the campaign, alongside the number 41.
His contract is set to expire, so it will be a race against time to extend his deal, but he has spoken previously about his desire to remain a Saints player for the foreseeable future, past this summer.
On top of that, he very rarely put a foot wrong during the second half of the season, alongside a near faultless Peretz, with Bree not losing a single second-tier game he was selected for.
While it ultimately counted for nothing, he also put his body on the line during the first leg of the hotly contested playoffs against Middlesbrough valiantly, when he denied a goal-bound effort from Tommy Conway.
Bree is the sort of character that would be ideal to have around as Southampton attempts to stabilise again, with a team next season that boasts both the one-time Charlton Athletic loanee and the agile stopper, one that will be ready for whatever challenges are thrown its way.
Add us as a preferred source on Google