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Phoney Squad Returns To Training But How Many Will Still Be Here Come September
Monday, 19th Jun 2023 09:04

The end of the transfer window in September may show a completely different Southampton squad to the one that will assemble in the next week, as the club prepares for life in the Championship in just 6 weeks time.

We know that Theo Walcott & Moi Elyounoussi will be missing from the squad after Saints issued the list of those who are out of contract and will not be retained, however it will still be a large bloated squad that returns and there could be as many as a dozen who will return to Staplewood, who will not still be there by the start of September.

A massive 35 players made appearances in the Premier League for Saints last season and when we add the likes of Willy Caballero and youngsters such as Lewis Payne who made appearances in the cup and those out on loan such as Nathan Tella & Will Smallbone, their will be approaching 40 players in the first team squad group once those on International duties return.

There will be those players who have no intention of playing Championship football and we should not be afraid of that, the income from transfers from our so called big name players leaving could be £150 million and even as much as £200 million.

I would imagine that the following will be in demand and will leave for a transfer fee . Kyle Walker Peters (£20m) Salisu (£20m) Bella Kotchap (£20m) Jan Bednarek (£15 m) Romeo Lavia (£40m) James Ward Prowse (£40m), this would bring in at a conservative estimate £155 million.

These are just those that are already being linked with other Premier League clubs, they could also be joined by the likes of Che Adams (£20m) Charley Alcatraz (£25m) Nathan Tella (£15m) Stuart Armstrong £5m) Lyanco (£5m) Mislav Orsic (£4m) as well as several others whose intentions are unclear such as Kamaldeen Sulemana, Duje Caleta-Car or Tall Paul Onauchu.

This sounds like a lot of players leaving and it probably will be, I would guess at least 10 of those mentioned above will be moving on a permanent deal.

But that will still leave us with a big squad and one that could compete in the Championship without too much investment. This could be a starting line up for the coming season assuming all of the above have left.

Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu (Alex McCarthy

Right back Tino Livramento ( James Bree, Lewis Payne)

Central defence, Jack Stephens Dynel Simeu

Left Back Romain Perraud (Juan Larios)

Central Midfield Ibrahima Diallo, Will Smallbone, Kamari Doyle , Sam Amo-Ameyaw. Joe Aribo.

Wide Midfield, Moussa Djenepo, Sam Edozie, Diamond Edwards

Forwards, Adam Armstrong, Sekou Mara, Dominic Ballard

Of course there is improvements that would need to be made to that team, like last season we would need bring in experience in the spine of the team, a couple of proven central defenders, a leader in the centre of midfield and a proven centre forward.

But that is 4 -5 players at £10-15 million apiece, so we would have brought in £150-200 million in transfer fees and we only need to spend around £50 million.

Some will sneer at some of the names in this side, but there is a big difference in class from the Premier League to the Championship, Adam Armstrong for instance got 28 goals two years ago when he played for Blackburn, Will Smallbone has proved himself at this level with Stoke City and Gavin Bazunu was superb at League One level a year ago.

Even after losing our superstars we can still compete, spend the money wisely and we can be a force in this division.

I have assumed the worst case scenario and all of the named players leaving, but some might stay, Burnley want Nathan Tella but do not seem to want to pay the money for him, so he could well find himself in a Saints shirt next season, likewise Sulemana & Alcaraz.

So there is no doubt that a bloated first team squad will start to re assemble this week, there is no doubt that come July 1st there will be big offers coming in for some of them and a lot will leave, but we need to have a clear out and we need to rebuild.

Some of those that will leave for high fee's will not be missed, Salisu & Bella-Kotchap for instance were big talents, but they seemed to play when they wanted to, they did not give us a consistent season and I am told that the atmosphere in the dressing room was awful with certain players forming cliques.

We need a fresh start and this gives us the chance to achieve it.

Photo: Action Images



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sandywelsh added 09:49 - Jun 19
God help us Nick if we end up with just who you say left. The only way we will be going is down again. We need to keep Nathan Tella & Che Adams. Get rid of Jack Stephens & Alex McCarthy!
6

Farlow added 10:45 - Jun 19
just seen the new kit.Diabolical I Hope they didn.t pay to get it designed like that.
4

Bowlercow added 11:15 - Jun 19
Simeu could be the star of our defence He has had a couple of good seasons on ilesloan in L1 and L2 Championship is his next logical move
RuMa likes 3 at the back so get an experienced CB (Not Stevens) with a youngster either side of him
Smallbone and Diallo DMF or perhaps signe free agent Maitland-Niles
Hopefully keep Alcaraz and Suleman wth Adam Armstrong job done
1

saintmark1976 added 11:39 - Jun 19
I expect that as soon as I finish writing this I will be proven wrong and we will receive a massive bid, but here goes.

Are any of the big Premiership clubs paying £40 million ( it’s suggested the club’s valuation is £50 million) for J W P. Like all of our players he was very poor last season and he is coming toward the end of his career at 28 years old. Add in the suggestion that his wages are £100,000 a week and I just don’t see him as a good investment at that sort of money.

For his own sake I hope he goes but I won’t be at all surprised to see him wearing a Saints shirt throughout next season. Given that this morning he is modelling our new kit on the Club’s website, perhaps they are similarly minded ?
1

dellboysaint added 13:37 - Jun 19
We have to keep Tella but it is crucial to move McCarthy on. He provides absolutely nothing in defence and cannot provide his other defenders with any confidence. Bazunu has potential at least. In the Championship, with games coming thick and fast, get a reliable keeper from the word go otherwise we will struggle. Oh, and McCarthy’s near post efforts…don’t get me started.
6

codge added 16:08 - Jun 19
Please not Jack Stephens enough already l think your obsessed with him😀
3

Farlow added 17:51 - Jun 19
We wont have a cat in hells chance of promotion if Diallo is our main midfield man
4

halftimeorange added 20:33 - Jun 19
Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu (Alex McCarthy

Right back Tino Livramento ( James Bree, Lewis Payne)

Central defence, Jack Stephens Dynel Simeu

Left Back Romain Perraud (Juan Larios)

Central Midfield Ibrahima Diallo, Will Smallbone, Kamari Doyle , Sam Amo-Ameyaw. Joe Aribo.

Wide Midfield, Moussa Djenepo, Sam Edozie, Diamond Edwards

Forwards, Adam Armstrong, Sekou Mara, Dominic Ballard

and who on earth will be captain?
-1

SanMarco added 22:08 - Jun 19
The revelation for me is that we had 'superstars' !! They always seem to take the day off when I was watching. I think Tella, Che and Adam Armstrong would be a proven formidable strike force and with Alcaraz just behind them I would be optimistic. We need some bigger/stronger players too. I liked JWP and KWP but they always quite light-weight as were the likes of Djenepo, Edozie and Mara.

If we can get decent money for Stephens and Bednarek then that is a bonus. I just hope that whatever the final figure is for transfer income a fair proportion of it is spent to bring in what we need.
3

Boris1977 added 18:14 - Jun 20
Any idea what's the difference between the phoney squad and the squad from last season?
0


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