Southampton’s active summer transfer window includes selling important players to adjust to the financial limitations of the Championship.
Russell Martin, the club’s manager, had previous experience trading key players at Swansea City, giving Southampton the confidence to shed prized assets.
While selling James Ward-Prowse made financial sense and allowed Southampton to bring in new players, his outstanding performance and impact to West Ham United may make Southampton regret their decision in the short run.
This stance from the Saints didn’t come as a surprise for three reasons.
Firstly, they needed to adapt to the financial conditions of the Championship and in order to do that, they probably needed to offload some of their high earners.
Adapting to the EFL’s financial rules is crucial for the Saints, because there are no guarantees that they will get themselves back to the Premier League in the short term.
Secondly, manager Russell Martin previously worked at Swansea City where key players are often sold and Flynn Downes made the switch to West Ham United during the ex-Norwich City defender’s time in South Wales.
With this in mind, the Saints may have felt they had more of a license to sell some of their valuable assets.
And finally, funds were needed so Martin could put his stamp on the Saints, something that’s vital in his quest to succeed at St Mary’s.
Because he has such a particular way of playing, he needed to bring in the right faces to fit in his system and the fact he was able to bring in so many new faces has paid dividends, with the Saints doing well at the moment.
Leave a Reply