It was a busy busy day at St Mary's this transfer window, but who has come in and who has gone from the Southampton squad as Will Still can finally get to grips with the job in hand after finalising his squad.

In terms of improving the squad Saints got their deals done before the final day and there was only one significant arrival and that was no surprise being the 26 year old winger from Heidenheim Leo Scienza.

He can play on either side and also if needed as an attacking midfielder in the centre.

The fee is said to be around £8 million and with Saints only having one dedicated winger in Ryan Fraser in the squad up to 5 days ago, this was one that Will Still wanted to land on deadline day.

Also arriving was 17 year old left back Gavon Gbajuno from Peterborough and although he has progressed well through Peterborough's academy sides already playing for the U21 team, he will go into Saints own academy set up rather that challenging for a first team place just yet.

These would be the only two deadline day arrivals after a busy few days leading up to the window,

So this last day would be more about getting players off the books rather than one them and trimming what was now a bloated squad after the arrival of Scienza who joined Finn Azaz, Caspar Jander , Tom Fellows & Elias Jelert from the tail end of last week meaning that not including youngster Gbajuno, the final few days brought in 5 experienced players to the first team squad.

So it seems that Saints landed all their targets in the final week apart from Issa Doumbia who was linked with a move from Venezia in Italy, with discussions continuing on the final day coming to nothing.

But it was far busier in the other direction, the day started with the departure of Dom Ballard to Leyton Orient on a permanent deal, the fee is unclear, but will more than likely be somewhere between £500k - £1 million with other options attached.

Next out was Charlie Taylor on loan to West Bromwich Albion, it was sad to see him go in my opinion, but in fairness to the player his time at Southampton was not of his own doing, he did not have a bad game for the club, but he was a victim of Russell Martin's stubborness and that carried forward to Ivan Juric.

Will Smallbone had been linked with a move to Wrexham & Birmingham City, two clubs linked to promotion, so he will be a little disappointed to end up at Millwall on loan, this is the final year of his contract so it would be surprising to see him in a Southampton shirt again.

Likewise James Bree who joined up with ex Saints manager Nathan Jones at Charlton Athletic, I think this is the 3rd time he will have played under Jones.

So that made it 4 departures from the first team squad on the final day, joining Ben Brereton Diaz who had left for Derby County on Sunday.

So it seems that Will Still will be happy on the final day dealings although it still leaves Sam Edozie & Joe Aribo at the club and in limbo, both are in the final year of their contracts and it would seem are keen to stay on what are Premier League contracts and not exchange them for lower salaries elsewhere, be it abroad or in the UK.

There is still the option for them to go out on loan for a short period of time I believe and I think that may happen.

If it doesn't then both are truly in limbo, even if they are re integrated back into the squad , it is unlikely that they would get much of a chance given we have already signed those who play in their positions.

But overall Southampton will be happy with this transfer window, they have lost those that they expected to go, Mateus Fernandes, Arron Ramsdale & Tyler Dibling, but we have kept Taylor Harwood Bellis and several other players in the squad that were linked with moves such as Adam Armstrong & Shea Charles to name but two, also Ronnie Edwards who was linked with QPR, I think he has had a shaky start in the Premier League, but will come good.

Personally I am a little disappointed to again see the club fail to sign a leader and organiser at the back, Ben Mee was available on a free transfer and has now joined Sheffield United, he is just the type of player that we need in our back line,, we have no one in the defence who is a leader and an organiser, this is a major oversight.

So now the real work begins for Will Still, there is no uncertainty about who will be going and who will replace them, he knows who he has got to work with and there are no outside factors.

We cannot change what has gone on in the last month, it is all about the next 9, the season starts here !

All Photos Via Reuters

Bowlercow added 10:45 - Sep 2 Has Ronnie Edwards has made a shaky start to the season Yes but we know from his loan spell at QPR that he can be better I don't know how many positions he has filled so far but we should now see a much more settled team which could help him Overall impressions are that we have reduced the size of the squad and at the same time increased the quality Time will tell
5

andywelsh added 11:18 - Sep 2 I may be wrong but my understanding is that as the window is open until September 8th in Belgium and September 12th in Turkey Edozie and Aribo could still be sold to clubs in those countries.
3

saintmark1976 added 11:38 - Sep 2 Completely underwhelmed as ever with Sports Republic. We needed a decent goalkeeper, centre half and most importantly a centre forward.We got not even one of them. Instead we purchased interchangeable wingers and midfielders. There is no way that our current forwards will score enough goals to get us back to The Premier League this season. In my opinion Downs is completely out of his depth, Stewart looks like an old man trying to avoid his next injury, Archer is a journey man with a poor goal scoring record and Armstrong appears way beyond his best and disinterested. Sports Republic received £80 million for the sale of Dibling and Fernandes alone together with parachute payments and appear intent on keeping the majority of it which of course is their prerogative. A season of mid table mediocrity awaits for us fans.

-10

Farlow added 11:53 - Sep 2 I think Charley Taylor could have been that leader.Will Still intimated as such and then Loaned him oht
1

Farlow added 11:56 - Sep 2 Is Bella Kotchap still here.
1

kevleykeegle added 12:27 - Sep 2 Saintmark - do you ever get invited out to parties? I’m guessing not. I think this is the best transfer window we have had in many many years.
3

saintmark1976 added 12:47 - Sep 2 Have I missed most of your previous posts kevleykeegle or is this your first attempt ? If so welcome. Party wise. I avoid them if I possibly can as people tend to get drunk and talk rubbish.
0

halftimeorange added 13:35 - Sep 2 I've previously observed on here that we need to give Will Still plenty of time before we pass judgement on how effective he is with the squad as it now is. On the goal scoring front I believe we have the personnel to find the net but, thus far, we simply haven't been creating opportunities for them. Several of the new additions look like defence openers to me. In goal Bazunu must know that this is make or break time for him. If he fails then he'll be replaced in January but, he's made some decent saves so far. It's the centre of defence that bothers me the most. We have to hope that Harwood-Belliss steps up to the leader's role, it's not as if he's that inexperienced, he's captained England at youth level. Anyway, my bet is that if WS has us anywhere near promotion or play-off places after Christmas money will be found to further strengthen the playing personnel to get us over the line.

7

SaintPaulVW added 13:42 - Sep 2 I think one consideration that we forget on the older 'leader' type players is that where they want to live can be a big consideration. To uproot and move to another part of the country for a job that may only last a few years does not appeal to some players, or their families, in the latter stages of their careers. Just a thought.
2

underweststand added 15:34 - Sep 2 Will Still continues to clear the decks of those (indirectly) responsible for the relegation and a few others who simply don't "fit the pattern" he has in mind. The oversize squad he had inherited were a combination of those who survived the "Ralph era" and the misfits who came afterwards, many of whom were panic buys from the bottom of the barrel. A word for those who have left ..only Dibling and Fernandes were capable of demanding a decent fee, and the Board did well to pull in those deals as well as recouping much of the money originally spent on Sulemana. The loan-outs will lead to eventual departure next year, and any kind thoughts for them won't mask the fact that they are not potential Prem. material should we bounce back up this season. IF.. Ramsdale DAJFU for Newcastle, they might buy him next summer, otherwise he will return, as he is still " our player ". As someone who follows all the Saints teams, I'm a little sad to see the departure of Dom Ballard for what I'm sure is a pittance, compared to his potential value but we may at least recoup some with the hefty "sell-on clause" mentioned when he moves up the leagues. The new recruits all look lively and keen, but (in part) I agree with saintmark (above) in that I hoped for some key signings who don't seem to have appeared this time around.

3

bryanK added 16:45 - Sep 2 I think the signings and the clear out on balance is OK. My biggest concern surrounds What appears the prime central defenders Harwood Bellis and Stephens who are in my opinion dodgy as mistakes are still happening at the back and they do not demonstrate any kind of leadership. Missing the trick on a leader in the Craig Dawson mould should have a priority. This Manager does need time and he has placed his faith in these guys. I hope he is right and my concerns are unfounded. Time will tell

2

LondonSaint76 added 17:04 - Sep 2 SaintPaulVW, I take your point regarding relocation for an established player who has put down roots in a different part of the country. I’d suggest the best way around that is to do what Ryan Fraser did when he went from Bournemouth to Newcastle. Knowing it wasn’t going to be forever he kept his home down here and rented a pad in Newcastle for the duration of his time there (effectively shortened by the arrival of Eddie Howe!), he was then able to return to the home he loved when joining Southampton. The money a senior player would earn even in the Championship would be more than enough to rent somewhere locally for a couple of years, probably 10% of their salary for a decent place in the New Forest or somewhere like Chilworth. Seems to have worked well for Fraser…

1

Monksway added 17:23 - Sep 2 It was always going to be a very difficult window, but at least a lot of activity has taken place, with a couple of significant sales, a lot of wages off the books and some reinvestment to support Still. We still have five centre backs and four strikers on the books, none of whom have really demanded to be first choice. I hope Still goes back to a back four and sticks with it so that an organised defence can be established in the way that KWP, THE, Bednarek and Manning did two years ago on the. long unbeaten run. It looks like Archer is the first choice striker because of a couple of goals but nobody stands out as an obvious target man and goal scorer. Archer and Stewart play of the shoulder, Downs doesn't touch the ball and Armstrong is the new EFL Shane Long. Hopefully the attacking midfield of Azaz, Robinson, Frazer, Fellows, Matzuki and Scienza will compensate. If they can afford for Aribo to stay I won't be too disappointed as despite his crazy reported wages he can still support Charles, Downes and the new lad in midfield.

2

IanRC added 10:45 - Sep 3 Letting Dom Ballard leave was a other big cock up by them. Should have been given a chance in preseason.
0

Blogs 31 bloggers

Derby County Polls