Now that the dust has settled Southampton can reflect on a busy summer in which Sport Republic provided Russell Martin with 14 first-team signings.
Russell Martin will have known there was a lot of work to be done to get his Southampton squad ready for the Premier League and the Saints boss has been backed by owners Sport Republic over the summer.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Flynn Downes and Ryan Fraser were all signed permanently after successful seasons on loan Southampton last season, whilst the likes of Mateus Fernandes, Ben Brereton Diaz and Yukinari Sugawara also made the move to St Mary’s.
It was a chaotic summer right that went right to the wire, with Southampton signing Aaron Ramsdale and Maxwel Cornet as well as Fraser on Deadline Day.
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Cornet’s loan move from West Ham happened so late in the day that the Saints had to submit a transfer deal-sheet which allowed them to finalise the transfer after the 11pm deadline last Friday.
Maxwel Cornet gives first interview since signing for Southampton
Cornet’s late arrival could be a crucial one, with the versatile forward showing he can thrive in a struggling side as he scored nine goals in 26 Premier League games for Burnley before moving to West Ham in 2022.
Martin could now benefit from that move not really working out for the Ivorian, as Cornet could provide a much-needed spark in a Southampton team who have scored just one Premier League goal this season.
Cornet has now given his first interview since joining the club, where he revealed that former Hammers team-mate Downes was key to convincing him to make the temporary switch to St Mary’s.
Cornet told the official Southampton club website: “I know Flynn from playing together at West Ham, and I know Charlie Taylor from Burnley and we had a good time.
“I asked Flynn about the club and the training ground before I joined. He told me everything is amazing so I said, ‘Okay, let’s go.”
Cornet impressed despite Southampton defeat to Brentford
Given how late on Friday Cornet’s move to Southampton was finalised, the 27-year-old was not registered in time to face Brentford on Saturday.
In truth, Martin could have done with the exciting attacker as his side lost 3-1 to the Bees as they struggled in West London.
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Despite the defeat – Southampton’s third in three league matches – Cornet remains optimistic about the performance and believes he can help the club achieve their goal of staying in the top flight, as he said: “I went to the stadium at Brentford to watch the game. We did not win but the way that the team plays, I really like it.
“We want to play football, even with young players. They are quality young players. I am pretty sure we will do something this season.
“With my experience with the number of games I’ve played, I will try to do my maximum to help and be decisive for the team. That’s what I’m here for.
“I really enjoyed playing in the Premier League. The last two years I didn’t play a lot so I’m really happy to be here and back into the business.”
With Cornet not called up by the Ivory Coast for international duty he will be able to spend the domestic break getting up to speed before potentially making his debut against Manchester United in the first game back.