Southampton are working hard behind the scenes to get their business done early this summer to give themselves the best chance of Premier League survival.
Russell Martin has already welcomed six signings ahead of the club’s first pre-season friendly of the summer against National League side Eastleigh on Friday 19th July.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis’ permanent arrival was merely a formality once promotion was confirmed given Southampton and Manchester City had agreed a £20 million fee to make the loan permanent if the Saints came up.
That £20 million aside, Southampton have spent just under £12 million to secure the five other arrivals, with Adam Lallana and Charlie Taylor free, Ronnie Edwards and Nathan Wood £3 million each, and Yukinari Sugawara around £5.88 million.
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With further improvements to the squad needed to be ready for the Premier League, Martin knows he cannot afford to look for budget signings in two key areas.
Southampton must spend big in attacking areas
Southampton need a new striker to come in and be the man to score the goals that fire them to safety in their first season back in the big time.
With the current striker options of Ross Stewart, Adam Armstrong and Sekou Mara, the Saints do not have a forward who has history of scoring goals regularly at Premier League level.
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With five of the six signings so far being defenders, Southampton have addressed their backline for relatively cheap this summer.
This is something they simply cannot afford to do with a centre-forward, with strikers who can score at the top level coming at a premium with good reason given how vital they are to a team’s chances of success.
The other area is attacking midfield.
Lallana has joined but, at 36, he cannot be the marquee creative force Martin needs this summer and should act more as depth.
The good news is, it looks as though Martin knows these two positions are crucial, with Southampton missing out to Ipswich Town for Liam Delap despite agreeing a £20 million deal with Manchester City and bidding the same fee for Celtic’s creative midfielder Matt O’Riley.
Martin can focus on attacking signings after sorting defence
Sorting the defence as early in the summer as possible was clearly the priority, with Martin seemingly looking to build from back to front.
Flynn Downes remains the number one choice to anchor the midfield, but other than that the majority of signings are now expected to be attacking ones.
An attacking midfielder is crucial and could be the difference maker in tight games, particularly against sides in and around Southampton.
Chances can be few and far between in the Premier League so Martin needs a striker he can rely on to be efficient with his opportunities and could even look to sign two centre-forwards this summer.
Aside from those two key areas, Southampton need wide players, as Samuel Edozie and Kamaldeen Sulemana are currently the only two natural senior wingers in Martin’s ranks.