Southampton’s most important signing nearly being sealed shows they mean business

The optimism levels around Southampton have certainly been lifted over the past couple of days.

The start of the new Championship season will be bleak; there's no getting around that, as the Saints will enter the fresh campaign with a troubling four-point deduction. But, it's not exactly an insurmountable points gap to make up.

Moreover, there seems to be a desire to succeed in both statements from Dragan Solak and Tonda Eckert, with the South Coast club desperate to have a positive season when the first ball is kicked to get the 2026/27 campaign underway, in order to erase the Spygate scandal from memory.

Eckert could even be trusted with the reins, depending on whether he is outright banned by the FA or not, with Solak publicly backing his manager to stay put at St. Mary's.

Another development will make Saints fans even more cautiously excited about the season to come, with new reports suggesting that the South Coast giants are edging ever closer to snapping up Daniel Peretz on a permanent deal, who instantly fit into his Championship surroundings as a loanee.

Peretz transfer talk

As per Daily Echo journalist Alfie House, the Saints are now in advanced talks about securing a permanent deal for Peretz, with the Spygate scandal surfacing, making this a potentially problematic move to get over the line.

Clearly, the Bayern Munich stopper loved his brief half-season stint at St. Mary's so much that he wants to return for good, no matter what is unfolding behind the scenes, with the report stating that Southampton are keen to get the deal done quickly, as Peretz wants to help the club get promoted.

His goalkeeping heroics very nearly got the Saints to the promised land last season, with the 25-year-old keeping a stunning nine clean sheets from 23 Championship outings.

He was a sensational mid-campaign capture, so it will be music to the ears of Southampton fans that he is so adamant on a return, with the St. Mary's masses readying themselves for Gavin Bazunu to be back in between the sticks as an error-prone substitute.

Instead, they will be over the moon that the number 41, who barely put a foot wrong on the South Coast, is coming back, with the quick approach to snap up Peretz showing off a club who means business, heading into the 26/27 campaign.

Southampton mean business

Winning back the Israel international so decisively really does send a message out to the rest of the division that Southampton aren't messing about.

Undoubtedly, off the back of his clean sheet heavy loan spell, the 25-year-old would have had a generous pick of other clubs keen on his services.

Yet, it sounds as if the 6-foot-3 keeper was only ever going to go down the Southampton route this summer, despite worries that Spygate would make every standout performer from last season walk away.

This could stand Southampton in great stead in tying down the likes of James Bree and Ross Stewart, with the potential for Leo Scienza to bat away Premier League interest, too, to stick it out for another campaign at St. Mary's.

During the season, it was well documented that both the Brazilian and his Israeli counterpart are good friends, so this show of clear ambition could well be enough for Scienza to remain rooted to Eckert and Co.

All of a sudden, the approaching campaign doesn't feel like one that the Saints need to fear. Instead, they could be right in the promotion pack again, despite all their off-field difficulties.

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