Southampton’s summer transfer business could force three players out of the door in January.
The Saints secured a somewhat surprising return to the English top flight in 2023/24, seeing off promotion favourites Leeds United in the play-off final.
Southampton have since struggled for form upon their return and currently sit 19th in the Premier League table after three games.
The South Coast outfit have lost their opening three fixtures, scored just one and conceded five.
This comes despite the fact Rusell Martin was backed very heavily during the 2024 summer transfer window.
In a bid to avoid a relegation scrap, Southampton made a staggering 19 new signings in the most recent transfer window.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis’ permanent switch was the biggest deal of the window, while Southampton signed Aaron Ramsdale late on to try and sure up what has been a shaky backline so far.
But with all the new faces arriving at St Mary’s, Martin now has an inflated squad and will be unable to give everyone enough game time to keep them happy.
In turn, a few players could be looking to leave Southampton in the 2025 January transfer window…
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Armel Bella-Kotchap
Southampton brought two new centre-backs to the club over the summer in Ronnie Edwards and Nathan Wood.
As a result, Martin now has six centre-halves to pick from in the 2024/25 Premier League season.
And at present, Armel Bella-Kotchap, who is valued at £12m by Transfermarkt, is far down that pecking order at St Mary’s. He has not been included in any league matchday squads and only played 26 minutes in the League Cup versus Cardiff City.
In turn, the German will probably need to look for a move in January if he wants to play regularly again.
Ryan Manning
Another area the Saints have reinforced heavily in the most recent transfer window is left-back.
The additions of Welington (joining in January) and Charlie Taylor are good for Martin as he aims to strengthen his options in every position but bad news for Ryan Manning.
The 28-year-old was a key figure in 2023/24, playing 41 times across all competitions in their promotion-winning campaign.
But Manning is yet to make a single appearance so far this season and has only made it onto the bench in the cup.
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Joe Lumley
Like the above duo, a fresh signing will likely force Joe Lumely to leave in the January transfer window.
Ramsdale is a top-quality goalkeeper and is sure to become Martin’s number-one very soon.
Lumely, though, will now be a fourth-choice goalkeeper, which he is not expected to be happy about.
The 29-year-old’s only appearance so far came in the League Cup when he shipped three goals – form unlikely to be good enough to win him more starts going forward.