Southampton finished 15th in 2020/2021 Season on 43 points.
Southampton last season, similar to the likes of Brighton and and Burnley, will consider themselves lucky that they were not dragged into a relegation dogfight. As mentioned in previous articles, teams outside the drop zone coasted through the final fixtures of the season due to the poor accumulation of points gathered by the bottom three. Ralph Hasenhüttl is an exceptional coach and will no doubt notice that his side need to massively improve on last season. Out of every team in the bottom ten, Southampton arguably hold the most unfulfilled potential, with the quality in their side not being a fair representation of the results on the pitch. One big concern for Southampton is the departure of arguably their best player in the last two seasons, Danny Ings, who has signed for Aston Villa. This is a trend that Southampton fans are far too familiar with and the evidence shows that they recovered in the past with the losses of Virgil Van Dijk and Sadio Mane so the same should happen this season around. They have signed Blackburn striker Adam Armstrong as a straight replacement, who scored 58 goals in 151 appearances for the club. It's not as prolific as Ings' Premier League tally of 41 in 91 but Hasenhüttl has spoken about Armstrong and feels he is the answer to Ings' departure. When asked about the pressure on Armstrong's shoulder's, Hasenhüttl stated that "he doesn't care because he knows he can score goals", (Sky Sports, 2021). Southampton will also look for cover in defense, with Leicester snapping up their stalwart Jannick Vestergaard to replace the injured Wesley Fofana and their long-lasting full-back Ryan Bertrand. Usually in Southampton's case, their policy sometimes relies on their academy rather than the transfer market so it will be interesting to see f any upcoming talents emerge from Southampton's bright youth system. They have also brought back homeboy Theo Walcott from Everton on a permanent basis, which looks like a match made in heaven for both parties given the success of his loan spell at the club last season. Walcott has struggled since leaving Arsenal in 2018, but with fans who adore him, maybe he can revitalize his undeniable ability. Southampton's survival in the Premier League is usually a formality but as we have mentioned in previous posts, the quality and growing tension of teams at the bottom end if the table is arguably at it's peak. Normally, Southampton would have been indulged into a survival battle last season but they managed to cruise through to the end of the 38 match mark. Their quality in the squad, their bright academy and their policy of enduring the separation from their stars suggests that Southampton will be safe once more this season. One issue Hasenhüttl will definitely wish to address before the season commences is their strange capitulations in the last 2 seasons. Two 9-0 defeats to Leicester and Manchester United in two seasons is alarming, it may seem like a freak of nature initially but when it happens twice, action has to be taken by the coach. Granted on both occasions they went down to 10 men, it's the attitude and manner of the defeat that will spook Hasenhüttl and it will be something I've no doubt he is working on to prevent in the future. The prospect for Southampton for this exciting new season with the return of fans is of a usual expectation, but Southampton need to be at their best and hope that the returning fans at St. Mary's can grant them vital wins in a bid to push them up the table and towards the top 10, a position I feel their team and squad should be contending for.
MAJOR TRANSFERS- (subject to change).
IN- Adam Armstrong- (Blackburn Rovers, undisclosed fee).
Theo Walcott- (Everton, undisclosed fee).
Tino Livramento- (Chelsea, £5 million).
Romain Perraud- (Brest, undisclosed fee).
OUT- Danny Ings- (Aston Villa, £25 million).
Ryan Bertrand- (Leicester, free transfer).
Jannick Vestergaard- (Leicester, £15 million).
Angus Gunn- (Norwich, £5.5 million).
Wesley Hoedt- (Anderlecht, £14 million).
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