Southampton were mulling about the idea of recruiting Tottenham Hotspurs starlet Josh Keeley but Sky Sports have confirmed the Saints have lost the transfer race.
It can't be denied that Southampton resist admitting they need better signings, unless circumstances leave them with no other choice. Apart from last year's portion of the 2024/25 season, they knew Aaron Ramsdale's shirt number must be made replaceable for someone else, but gave zero thought to it before their April relegation.
And the initially shortlisted names were intriguing, because Tottenham Hotspurs youth keeper Josh Keeley was also lying in the mix. Even a top-tier club's backup shot-stopper would have been a more believable rumour but vying for a League One regular only meant one of the two things.
Either Southampton have evaluated a Kyle Walker-Peters like once in a while Spurs prodigy, or the board is desperately scraping past every decent in-form alternative in order to get them for a cheap price before their demand begins soaring.
The first scenario will take a couple of years to draw conclusions but the second one won't work for Southampton because they have been overtaken.
Saints won't face Keeley next season except cup draws
In the words of Sky Sports: "Luton are finalising a deal to sign Tottenham goalkeeper Josh Keeley. The fee is understood to be £1m and a straight transfer with no buy-back clause."
Let's be honest, the Keeley blow won't upset the Saints chiefs but there will be an element of imagination that he seemed fasttrack-able enough for the senior roster. Talking about the how quickly part, that could've been felt if Luton had saved their Championship spot, but Saints can only look forward to facing Keeley in the cup competitions.
Moreover, the promotion gaining metric is always there to rate Keeley on Southampton's behalf. Assuming the assessment comes out good, the fans may see the club lodge some substantial bids for the 22-year-old in the following transfer markets.