There was once a time when Southampton were the Premier League’s kings of the transfer market, selling players they’d developed for enormous fees and the replacing them at comparatively minimal cost. But the gravy train has run a little dry over the last few years, resulting in last season’s slump into relegation-threatened territory.
Some signings this summer, particularly Danny Ings and Mohamed Elyounoussi, have given cause for optimism, but where did the Saints fall short over the offseason? Football FanCast’s expert writers discuss below what they think will prove to be Southampton’s biggest regret of the transfer window…
James Beavis – Lack of depth at centre-half
“Having never properly replaced Jose Fonte and following a disastrous 2017/18 campaign, Southampton needed more than just a Virgil van Dijk replacement this summer, yet that is all they got. Jannik Vestergaard is not in the same league as the Dutchman but has similar attributes and should be a success, but it’s hard to see the same thing being said about Wesley Hoedt or Jack Stephens, who looked woeful against Everton on Saturday.
“Mark Hughes may have made a grave error by – needlessly, in truth – spending a big sum on goalkeeper Angus Gunn rather than bringing in a decent partner for Vestergaard, with a man who has largely been a fringe player previously in Maya Yoshida looking to be the best candidate to sit alongside the Dane at the heart of the defence on a regular basis right now.”
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Greg Potts – No backup for Cedric Soares
“Saints went about their business pretty quietly this summer but ended up spending a fair amount of money, although this was probably needed after their poor season and 17th place finish last term. The one position that Mark Hughes failed to address though was right-back, and after releasing Jeremy Pied the south coast club are left with Cedric Soares as their only option. If the Portuguese international suffers an injury it could mean plugging the gap with centre-back Jack Stephens, youth-team player Yan Valery or left-back Matt Targett. Although either of these three could do a reasonable job, having just one recognised senior right-back in the squad is a risk for Hughes and something he should have addressed in the window just gone.”
Ben Goodwin – The wrong winger
“I think Southampton should have signed Alireza Jahanbakhsh instead of Mohamed Elyounoussi. Jahanbakhsh may only have one elite season under his belt, but what a season it was, grabbing 22 goals and 14 assists. The 25 year-old is more of a goal threat than Elyounoussi, and his ability to make something out of nothing would be extremely useful for a team that doesn’t create many chances.”
Christy Malyan – Failing to offload the deadwood
“There’s an obvious danger in making a squad too thin after just about securing Premier League survival but Southampton needed a dramatic shakeup this summer and it just didn’t quite happen. Although there have been five arrivals and eight departures, Dusan Tadic is the only player Southampton actually got money for. Sofiane Boufal, Guido Carrillo and Jordy Clasie only left on loan despite none seemingly having a future on the south coast – they should have been sold outright instead, giving Mark Hughes extra funds to bring in the quality Southampton really needed to avoid another relegation-threatened season.
“The same applies to Shane Long, Fraser Forster and probably even youngster Sam Gallagher and club captain Steven Davis. From those four players, only Long has managed to make the bench so far this season, so why are they still at the club? Saints have done well to reduce the wage bill and get some questionable personalities out the door, but shifting all of that deadwood would have allowed Hughes the money and the room in the squad needed to really change the mentality at St. Mary’s.”
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