Southampton will be hoping for a quiet transfer day as they look to keep their squad together for the remainder of the season.
Russell Martin has seen two players arrive from Bournemouth this January, with Joe Rothwell and David Brooks both signing on loan until the end of the season.
In terms of first-team departures, the club have so far fended off any interest in their key players. However, the club did make the decision to allow 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz join Italian giants Juventus on loan with a £35 million option to buy in the summer. Alcaraz has seen his opportunities limited and has been playing second fiddle to Stuart Armstrong so a deal makes sense, particularly given Rothwell’s arrival.
Martin identified at the start of the window that he wanted “one or two” players to come in, with right wing always being the priority position and he has got that with Brooks. Now, the Southampton boss will be hoping for a calm last day of the window, but there could be some late moves for some of his players.
Could Kyle Walker-Peters be sold?
The most likely to depart today is Mason Holgate, the defender on loan from Everton.
Holgate has seen opportunities limited in his time at the club and finds himself fourth choice at centre-back, behind Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Jan Bednarek and Jack Stephens. The 27-year-old has started just four Championship games despite dropping a division to try and get more game-time, but could get a Premier League reprieve with bottom-place Sheffield United pursuing a deadline day move.
It is unlikely that Martin will be too concerned should Holgate leave, but interest in key players Che Adams and Kyle Walker-Peters will be far more troubling.
It is no secret that Adams is available for a cut-price fee with the striker’s contract expiring this summer. A number of Premier League clubs expressed interest earlier this month but, with Adams in the best form of the season with five goals in his last seven games, speculation surrounding his future has gone eerily quiet.
Things can change very quickly on deadline day, though, and it would be no surprise if there are Premier League clubs eyeing up a last-gasp bid.
Walker-Peters has been Southampton’s best player this season, excelling in a number of roles, and the sale of the player at this stage in the window would be almost unthinkable.
It would take a massive offer for the Saints to allow Walker-Peters to leave, but with Chelsea reportedly considering a £35 million bid that is not beyond the realms of possibility. Walker-Peters seems to be loving his football under Martin and Southampton fans will hope the full-back at least sees this season through before deciding on his future.
Martin is very much in the same boat and will not want to see his relationship cut short with a player he has described as having “some incredible attributes” who “does stuff I’ve never seen before”.
With incomings unlikely, for Southampton a quiet deadline day is a good deadline day.