Southampton will be looking to offload plenty of deadwood this summer, as Tonda Eckert refines his overall squad for another intense Championship promotion challenge.
It would not be a shock to anyone if the likes of Damion Downs and Juan Larios were moved on, as neither player is exactly banging down the door for more first-team opportunities as notable flops.
Moreover, with Daniel Peretz re-signing for the Saints this off-season, and George Long also returning for good after a loan stint from Norwich City, there is no place for Gavin Bazunu in the first-team ranks.
Thankfully, despite his on the fringes presence at the moment, an EFL club has been named who is interested in landing the Irish stopper...
The EFL club who wants Bazunu
As per new reports, Derby County seem to be keen on the hot-and-cold keeper this summer, with Jacob Zetterstrom - Derby's current number one - being looked at by a wide array of clubs, after starring at the World Cup with Sweden.
It's a slightly unusual pick from the Rams, considering Bazunu's stock is low at the moment, as he has just returned to the Saints after only keeping two clean sheets out on loan at Stoke City.
But, he does have a second tier promotion under his belt, which might have caught John Eustace's eye, moving away from Bazunu's frustrating tendency to wobble under pressure.
For all parties involved, this would be a good move, as Southampton can finally offload a member of the camp who won't be getting a first-team look-in next season, all while the one-time Manchester City academy product is handed another opportunity to impress in the Championship with Derby to salvage his dented reputation.
Saints fans won't have many kind words to say about the Dublin-born dud when he does leave, but it would be rewriting history somewhat if you didn't acknowledge that he did have a relatively competent season during those Russell Martin promotion heroics. Indeed, he kept 11 clean sheets.
There is another flop on the Southampton books at the moment who is even more of a bother than Bazunu, who has no redeeming parts of his Saints tale to fall back on, when he does exit the building...
The Southampton flop who is more frustrating than Bazunu
Strangely, Ben Brereton Diaz featured for Derby last season, the club Bazunu could soon be moving to.
While the 24-year-old keeper has been hot-and-cold in a Southampton jersey, he does have that aforementioned memorable promotion campaign on his side.
For his Chilean teammate, he has little to pull out from the wreckage of his Saints career and be proud of, as despite scoring 76 career goals overall, he has never found the back of the net for the South Coast giants.
Brereton Diaz's atrocious Saints form:
Stat | BBD |
|---|---|
Games played | 15 |
Goals scored | 0 |
Big chances missed | 2 |
Costing a whopping £7m to obtain, this has been a complete waste of time and money, and Southampton will look to get rid of Brereton Diaz swiftly this summer, as he has gone down as an even more frustrating purchase than the Southampton number 31.
It is being reported that Derby would be keen on snapping up Brereton Diaz permanently, so he could link up with Bazunu at Pride Park imminently.
With Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion further noted as interested parties, the deadwood being removed from Eckert's camp looks to now be in full flow, as both players in question attempt to haunt Southampton next season if they're moved on.
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