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The other players Southampton must now shift on after Shea Charles sale

Shea Charles won't be the only notable sale occurring this summer at Southampton.
Colchester United vs Southampton FC: Carabao Cup
Colchester United vs Southampton FC: Carabao Cup | Matt Watson/GettyImages

Suddenly, a wide array of Southampton players are leaving the club on the eve of a brand-new Championship season.

Indeed, the main talked-about departure is, of course, Shea Charles, as he goes about finalising a £30m switch to Fulham in the Premier League.

But, separate transfer news filtering through today has revealed that Nicholas Oyekunle will be plying his trade with Leyton Orient in League One on loan this forthcoming campaign, despite a promising pre-season at his boyhood employers.

It does make sense, as the 19-year-old hasn't ever really tasted senior football, besides irregular substitute appearances at St. Mary's.

More sales will be anticipated, you imagine, as Tonda Eckert has an extremely bloated squad at the moment on the South Coast.

Southampton's bloated squad

At the time of writing, Southampton have 29 senior players on their ranks.

This does need to be trimmed down slightly, with four goalkeepers crazily at Eckert's disposal, currently.

One perk of having plentiful options all over the pitch is that losing Charles won't sting as much as some might expect, looking in, with Eckert able to call upon Caspar Jander, Flynn Downes, and Cameron Bragg in the middle of the park as a more than capable trio.

The downside to having so many players, though, is the inability to keep them all happy and content, with some neglected reserve figures at St. Mary's surely itching for a move away, while the hectic window remains open.

If I had to make a call, these are the players I would anticipate Southampton would want to get rid of, after accepting their Charles fate.

The players the Saints must shift on after the Charles sale

With Divin Mubama looking to be entering the building as an exciting attacking talent from Manchester City shortly, a needed striker clear-out might finally occur.

After his below-par showing against Colchester United in the EFL Cup, Southampton fans would love to see the back of Ben Brereton Diaz, and EFL-centric journalist Darren Witcoop has come out to state that the expectation, in Saints quarters, is that the goal-shy Chilean will be packing his bags.

Alongside waving goodbye to Brereton Diaz potentially, who does have some EFL admirers, Eckert and Co. will also surely look to part ways with one of Damion Downs and Cameron Archer, despite their promising pre-season displays.

Moving away from a possible attacking exodus, Southampton need to cash in on Aaron Ramsdale once and for all, after pocketing £30m for Charles, with Daniel Peretz so far out in front as the German's starting goalkeeper choice, as he made a number of fine saves against Colchester.

There's Gavin Bazunu, too, who has been forgotten about as another reserve face still around the overblown group, with the likes of Samuel Edozie and Yukinara Sugawara falling into this category, too, of forgettable fodder that should be discarded.

Edozie allegedly has interest from Paderborn and FC Copenhagen for his services, despite such limited gametime in recent memory at St. Mary's, with the one-time Manchester youngster tumbling down the pecking order this summer, as the arrival of £9m signing Lewis Dobbin strengthened an already captivating Southampton forward line.

Safe to say, if the likes of Edozie, Ramsdale, and Brereton Diaz were to all depart, there wouldn't be many tears shed.

On the contrary, Charles' exit is tinged in sadness, but for £30m, the Saints would have been fools not to cash in.

Away from the talk of sales for a moment, that added cash flow could come in handy for some more signings, as the squad starts to slowly come together for the return of Championship action.


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