As Southampton enter the final week of the summer transfer window, there’s plenty of work to do for technical director Johannes Spors.
The days ahead are truly decisive and will set a course for the season to come. As seen last campaign, the final-week signings of Finn Azaz, Caspar Jander, Leo Scienza and Tom Fellows proved to be revolutionary.
It’s unlikely that as many players as that will be signed, but a couple of incomings and limiting exits for key players will set the Saints and Tonda Eckert up nicely.
Saints must avoid selling stars
Taylor Harwood-Bellis looks destined to leave Southampton late-on in the window after heavy interest from Premier League side and Europa League Champions Aston Villa.
Unai Emery’s team have pushed for a deal in recent days, leading to Saints boss Tonda Eckert leaving his player out of the side’s squad to play Stoke City.
While Harwood-Bellis may be going, it means Southampton will have to hold on to fellow key players in Caspar Jander and Leo Scienza for their lives. While no offers have seemingly come in for either, the Saints will be hoping the two signed from Germany last summer will stick around.
These exits are necessary
Other players have to leave Southampton if Tonda Eckert is to have a well-sized squad. The Saints boss admitted himself that he prefers working with fewer players than more, as long as the quality of his selection pool is right.
Ben Brereton-Diaz was left out of the Saints’ squad to play Stoke City on Saturday, hinting at a potential departure. The Chilean has failed to score a single goal since switching to the south coast in 2024, and should be heading elsewhere in the last week of the window.
As well as Diaz, Cameron Archer has had limited opportunities and is a square peg in a round hole at Southampton. With Cyle Larin and Divin Mubama clearly the first-choice strikers, Archer could bring in a nice transfer fee.
Goalkeepers Aaron Ramsdale and Gavin Bazunu are also players who need to depart, after both were told in pre-season that they would not feature because of Daniel Peretz and George Long being in the ascendancy for places.
Overall, things are looking okay for Southampton on the transfer front. They need to avoid selling further stars, offload the deadwood, and bring in a couple more players to replace those outgoing, starting with a much-needed centre midfielder.
Add us as a preferred source on Google