Manager: Ronald Koeman.
Last season: 8th in the Premier League.
Major signings: Dusan Tadic (£10.9m, FC Twente), Graziano Pelle (undisclosed, Feyenoord), Ryan Bertrand (loan, Chelsea), Saphir Taider (loan, Inter Milan).
Players out: Luke Shaw (£27m, Manchester United), Rickie Lambert, (£4m, Liverpool), Adam Lallana (£25m, Liverpool), Lee Barnard (free, Southend), Joe Curtis, Guilherme Do Prado, Andreas Sony, Matthew Young (released), Andreas Robinson (free, Bolton), Danny Fox (free, Nottingham Forest), Calum Chambers (£16m, Arsenal), Dejan Lovren (£20m, Liverpool), Jonathan Forte (free, Oldham), Dani Osvaldo (loan, Inter Milan), Jordan Turnbull (loan, Swindon).
Expectations? New manager and a new looking squad means that they will be a bit of an unknown quantity. We think they’ll survive, but won’t be as impressive as last season.
The Southampton of last season has been decimated. The manager has gone to take over at Spurs and four of their best players, Lallana, Lambert, Lovren and Shaw have all departed.
Ronald Koeman has never managed in England before, but then again, neither had Mauricio Pochettino when he took over the reins last season. He proved to be a very astute manager and he will be missed at St Mary’s.
They’ve brought in Tadic and Pelle from the Eredivisie in Holland, but both are relatively unknown quantities and it’s going to be a season of transition and change in Southampton. With so many comings and goings, the club will of course, place survival as their top priority and while we see them doing that, it’ll be a tough season for them.
Irish angle: There are currently no Irish players involved in Southampton’s first team squad.
If they were a fictional character… The Saint – More of a reflection on their dwindling numbers than their spy-like abilities. If departures continue as they are, there’ll be only one player left…..
Where will they end up? Lots of change at St Mary’s this season and with that in mind, we think they could struggle a bit. They will avoid relegation, but it’ll be scary for a bit.
