As we approach the new year, it is time to reflect on a year that saw Southampton relegated from the Premier League and navigate the first half of their first Championship campaign in 11 years.
There wasn’t much to shout about in the first half of the year, with Southampton only winning three Premier League games in 2023.
The year started with Nathan Jones in charge, after he had replaced Ralph Hasenhüttl in November, and will end with Russell Martin at the helm; Ruben Selles being the man who took over from Jones but did little to give the Saints hope of avoiding relegation.
A lot of lows last season have been replaced by some real highs so far this campaign, with Martin’s Southampton side currently on an unbeaten run of 14 games and eyeing a push for the automatic promotion places.
A number of players have shown real improvement this campaign and have proven that they deserve a future at the club, so let’s take a look at the three most improved players of 2023.
Gavin Bazunu thriving under Russell Martin
When Gavin Bazunu was signed by Southampton in the summer of 2022, he was widely seen as a young goalkeeper with massive potential following a successful loan spell at rivals Portsmouth the season before.
Through no fault of his own, the then 20-year-old stopper was thrust into the spotlight as a Premier League number one despite only playing as high as League One level previously. Due to oversight by the Saints board, Bazunu had no real competition and subsequently no experienced back-up who was good enough to come in and take the heat off him as he endured a difficult debut campaign.
Jamie Carragher in his role as a pundit labelled Bazunu a “big problem” towards the back end of last season, citing the number of goals the youngster had let in that he should perhaps have done better with.
The Ireland ‘keeper has clearly used the difficult experience of last season as motivation when many would have crumbled with the pressure and criticism. This season, Martin has placed complete faith in Bazunu – staunchly backing him at a fan forum earlier in the season – and the ex-Manchester City man has thrived as a result.
There have still been some dodgy moments, notably goals conceded to Watford and Rotherham United, but Bazunu has been making some excellent saves this season as well as conceding less goals where you feel he should do better.
Bazunu has a great deal of responsibility in Martin’s side, as the goalkeeper is the first port of call to start the build-up and often acts as a sweeper to help out his defence. How much the 21-year-old is involved in Southampton’s tactics is highlighted by the average distance of his defensive actions being 18.6 yards from his goal according to FBREF, as well as averaging 1.55 defensive actions and 42.41 touches per game.
Bazunu is incredibly good with his feet and is brave on the ball, trusting his ability to play passes in tight areas and pick out his teammates when under pressure. The goalkeeper has an 85% pass completion rate this season and when you consider he has attempted a massive 892 passes in 22 Championship games this is very impressive.
Ultimately, the main thing for a goalkeeper is keeping the ball out of the net and Bazunu has conceded 29 goals in the league so far this season whilst keeping five clean sheets; the positive sign is that three of these clean sheets have come in Southampton’s last three home games.
The next step for Bazunu is ironing out the mistakes, but the fact they have become increasingly rare is a really positive sign. He is so young for a starting goalkeeper and will only get better. With last season’s difficult campaign behind him, Saints fans are starting to realise they may have a gem on their hands.
Adam Armstrong providing the goals for Southampton
Adam Armstrong is another player who has had a difficult time at Southampton prior to this season, but is now proving his worth for the club and has been one of Southampton’s top performers so far this season.
Armstrong was signed a year prior to Bazunu, effectively as a replacement for Danny Ings, but only managed four Premier League goals in 68 appearances as he failed to ever perform well enough to tie down a regular starting spot.
This season, though, Armstrong has been a different beast under Martin. The confidence Martin has shown in the ex-Blackburn Rovers forward appears to have had the desired effect, with the manager even entrusting Armstrong with the captain’s armband in Jack Stephens’ absence through injury.
Armstrong has played in a number of positions, even playing in centre midfield at times early on in the season, but has been Southampton’s primary source of goals with 12, as well as six assists. He has become one of the first names on the team sheet and it has been such a turnaround that fans now worry where the goals would come from if anything were to happen to the 26-year-old.
Armstrong will be desperate to get the Saints promoted so that he can have another crack at the Premier League under a manager who really trusts him. The concern for fans would be that he has scored goals at this level before – which was what led Southampton to take the chance on him in the first place – but that did not translate to goals in the top flight.
If Southampton are to get promoted, it will be for Armstrong to prove that he can be a regular goalscorer at Premier League level and he could save the club a lot of money if he does just that.
James Bree showing consistency in performances
The third player who deserves massive praise for the improvement he has shown to turn his Southampton career is James Bree. The full-back was signed in January for a small fee of around £750k on the recommendation of then manager Jones but, with Jones sacked weeks later, Bree found himself on the periphery for the rest of the season.
It must have hurt Bree to see his former club Luton Town earn a historic promotion to the Premier League whilst he was relegated with Southampton, barely playing in the process. The 26-year-old had to wait for his opportunity even this season under Martin, but he now looks to have put any disappointment firmly behind him as he has become a reliable performer for the Saints.
With Kyle Walker-Peters ahead of Bree in his natural right-back position and Ryan Manning brought in at left-back being very much a Martin signing, it looked as though Bree’s time at the club may be limited. Walker-Peters is arguably the best full-back in the division and is performing at an incredibly high level, but has the flexibility to play on either the right or the left. With than in mind, it was not a surprise to see Bree come into the side for his first league start when Manning was suspended for the trip to Preston in late October, but it was a surprise to see him start as the left-back with Walker-Peters staying on the right.
Bree was scathing of his own performance in his only start this season prior to the Preston game – a 3-1 loss to League Two Gillingham – saying post-match: “It’s not good enough from any of us really…There are a few lads in there, including me, who’ve had their first 90 minutes of the season so we’re still a bit rusty, but that’s no excuse”.
Bree was clearly determined not to let a second opportunity pass him by and was impressive in the unfamiliar role against Preston. So impressive, in fact, that he kept his place for the next four games despite Manning returning from suspension. Manning has since been handed another opportunity and had kept his place until Saturday’s 4-0 hammering of Blackburn Rovers; a game which actually saw Bree and Walker-Peter’s swap sides after ten minutes with Bree moving to his favoured right side.
Bree will accept that there is a lot of competition for a starting spot, but now that he has proven himself to be a safe pair of hands he will be in the conversation every time Martin ponders his starting line-up. At the start of the season, that was far from the case. Now though, Bree looks like a player who could make a real success of his time on the south coast.