Southampton has flown out the traps with some early summer transfer business.
Indeed, both Daniel Peretz and Cyle Larin have been tied down to permanent deals on the South Coast in a flash, with both players raring to go next season, as promotion could be on the cards.
Peretz will undoubtedly be the Saints' starting goalkeeper next season, with nine clean sheets collected last campaign, despite only entering the building in January.
But, with Alex McCarthy and Jamie Jones set to be released, and Gavin Bazunu hardly in the good books among the Saints masses, another new keeper signing was arguably needed, with George Long now a permanent member of the squad, after a loan last season from Norwich City.
Long set to return
Murmurs on social media did hint that Long, who barely featured last season for the Saints, would be returning for good as a back-up option to the Israel international.
Norwich-based journalist Chris Reeve, the EFL-experienced keeper - who has played for the likes of Norwich City, Hull City, and Millwall in the Championship - had stated that a permanent deal was going to be announced shortly, and on Monday evening, it was confirmed.
It's a move that works for all parties, with Long removed off the Canaries wage bill, while also offering the Saints a cheap presence in between the sticks, if Peretz were to fall victim to injury.
There will be a slight worry over whether the 32-year-old would be up for the pressures of a promotion chase, if he were thrown into the first-team mix, as he has seriously struggled in Norfolk across his past few seasons at Carrow Road.
Is this a good move?
Long only made one appearance all of last campaign for the South Coast outfit, with the Sheffield-born stopper playing all of the 120 minutes the Saints had to endure against Leicester City in the FA Cup in February, as they eventually came away from that tense Cup clash with a 2-1 victory.
Long stood firm throughout the match, apart from allowing Oliver Skipp to score the Foxes, with the number 25 facing 17 shots.
He was never that calm and composed for Norwich, though, with Canaries fans having nightmare flashbacks to the early stages of the 2025/26 season, when the 32-year-old was routinely chosen as their number one, before the Southampton loan deal transpired.
Nine Championship appearances would pass him by without a single clean sheet, while the 2023/24 season in the second tier only saw him grasp a solitary clean sheet for his troubles.
Long's clean sheet record by EFL division:
League | Games played | Goals conceded | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
Championship | 102 | 170 | 21 |
League One | 152 | 182 | 48 |
League Two | 10 | 13 | 1 |
This does not make for pretty reading, but the ex-England U20 international does have two promotions on his career CV in the EFL, and will try to do a job as a back-up at St. Mary's, as opposed to regularly being thrust into the spotlight.
Norwich sporting director Ben Knapper would laud him as a "valued member of the squad", before his Canaries exit was confirmed, with Long unlikely to throw his toys out of the pram, knowing he is a squad player once more.
It's not a flashy, standout purchase by any means, but it makes sense as a temporary fix, as the Saints' squad for next season already takes shape.
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