Southampton will again be a Premier League team next season.
The club’s stay in the Championship was short and sweet, as they finished fourth before navigating the play-offs to beat Leeds United 1-0 in the Wembley final.
Adam Armstrong‘s goal was enough to secure a Premier League place, with Southampton defending his first-half strike with real determination.
In truth, they were rarely threatened. Much of the credit for that must go to Kyle Walker-Peters, with the right-back marking Leeds’ best player, Crysencio Summerville, out of the game.
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The celebrations went long into the night on Sunday and Southampton quickly organised a trophy parade at St Mary’s on Monday to give fans the opportunity to celebrate with the players.
Kyle Walker-Peters with Premier League message to Southampton fans
Walker-Peters has been at the club for four-and-a-half years, having initially joined on loan in January 2020 before making the move permanent that summer.
The 27-year-old has consistently been one of Southampton’s best players throughout that time and was a cut above in the Championship this season.
The only Saints representative in the EFL Championship Team of the Season, Walker-Peters was all but guaranteed to have no choice but to leave in the summer to progress his career if the club failed to gain promotion.
Now, with Southampton winning the play-offs, the twice-capped England man has posted a picture from the St Mary’s celebrations which could also be a subtle hint on his future.
Walker-Peters posed the picture on his Instagram account, alongside the caption: “Back where we belong!”.
The ‘we’ within the post could be seen as a subtle hint on the player’s future, who is sure to command interest even with promotion.
That being said, Walker-Peters seems to have really enjoyed both the responsibility and freedom with which manager Russell Martin has allowed him this season and has looked a man possessed in his bid to drag Saints back to the top flight.
Former Southampton Mohammed Salisu responds to Walker-Peters
With a run of 11 consecutive seasons in the top flight prior to their relegation in 2022/23, Southampton will be glad to have ensured an instant return to the Premier League.
The next step is to survive what will be a difficult first season, but with Walker-Peters their chances of doing so improve drastically.
Mohammed Salisu was one of 19 players to depart the club in the fallout of relegation, but responded to Walker-Peters’ post with an emoji saying “Top” with a heart.
Ainsley Maitlaind-Niles, who spent the relegation campaign on loan at Southampton, responded saying “Big stuff”, whilst rapper AJ Tracey said “Only right!”.
Another comment of note came from Bournemouth striker Dom Solanke, who responded: “Don’t ask twice!”.
The comments were also, unsurprisingly, flooded with comments from Southampton fans with a clear message: please stay.
With promotion, Southampton have now given themselves every chance of extending Walker-Peters’ stay on the south coast.