Saints have made their first signing of the summer with Nathan Redmond signing from Norwich City.
Saints have landed long term target Nathan Redmond to show that even though there is not a manager in place at the moment, there is a strategy and that strategy is attractive to young ambitious players.
Saints have had to pay the Canaries a fee of around £11 million in a deal that includes a sell on clause, meaning that Saints have wasted little time in re investing the fee that they received from Tottenham Hotspur for Victor Wanyama.
Redmond has signed a five year deal with Saints and will offer Saints an option that they have lacked for some time and that is a genuine winger with pace.
The club's official statement said.
The 22 year-old progressed through Birmingham City’s academy, going on to make 82 appearances and scoring nine goals for the Blues, before joining Norwich City in 2013.
Redmond enjoyed a successful three-year spell with the Canaries, making 122 appearances and scoring 13 goals, including one in Norwich’s Championship play-off final win against Middlesbrough in 2015.
Birmingham-born Redmond has featured at every youth level for England, playing alongside Saints trio James Ward-Prowse, Jack Stephens and Matt Targett for England Under-21s at the Toulon Tournament earlier this summer.
Redmond will join up with his new teammates for pre-season testing on Tuesday, as Saints begin their preparations for the 2016/17 campaign.
"I’m really pleased to have made the move to Southampton,” Redmond said. "It’s a fantastic football club with excellent facilities, and I really feel I can develop my game here.
"The club’s style of play has always been excellent. They like to play attacking football and it’s a style I feel I can really fit in well with.
"When Southampton said they were interested it felt like the right move for me, and I can’t wait to get started now.”
Executive Director of Football Les Reed said: "I’m delighted to be able to welcome Nathan to Southampton Football Club.
"Despite being just 22, Nathan has gained plenty of experience in the Premier League with Norwich City, showing his quality at the top level on a consistent basis.
"He has also performed exceptionally well on the international stage, playing a key role in helping England Under-21s win the Toulon Tournament this summer.
"While Nathan has already gained Premier League experience, he has the potential to continue developing and becoming an integral part of the squad for years to come.”
So hopefully this is an announcement that shows Saints fans that the club still mean business going forward, it is perhaps testimony to the club's plans that Redmond was still happy to sign even though there is no manager in place at present.
This perhaps suggests that the club are near to an appointment and that Redmond may well be aware who that man is and in contrast our new manager may well have given his blessing to the deal, as although we adopt a modern approach in that we sign players to play a certain way, this still needs the managers input.