In order to find the players Russell Martin’s Saints club will need to lead them back to the Premier League at the first opportunity, the recruiting team will already be making plans for the January transfer window.
They have endured a mixed start to the season – but will take great encouragement from their win against Leeds United on Saturday and will be hoping that’s a turning point after managing to end their losing run.
The Saints and the Black Cats are likely to be promotion rivals this term despite the duo suffering some setbacks during the 2023/24 campaign – but the latter have been willing to do business with the former
Ross Stewart sealed a move from the Stadium of Light to St Mary’s on deadline day – and that wasn’t the only move the Saints tried to make during the latter stages of the window.
Patrick Roberts’s summertime chase by Southampton
It was reported by Sky Sports that Southampton had made a £5m bid for Roberts on deadline day.
Registering five goals and seven assists in the league last season, he had done enough to impress the Saints, but the south-coast side failed to get a deal over the line for him in the end.
They had the money to complete a deal after offloading a number of quality players during the summer, so they will likely be frustrated by this.
Even without considering additional sales, James Ward-Prowse, Tino Livramento, and Romeo Lavia by alone would have brought in over £100 million for Martin’s side.
What has changed recently regarding Southampton’s search for Patrick Roberts?
Witcoop believes the Saints are still keeping a close eye on Roberts at this point – and that isn’t a surprise considering the ex-Manchester City player is yet to put pen to paper on an extension at the Stadium of Light.
The winger’s contract on Wearside is due to expire next summer and with this in mind, the Black Cats may be open to selling him to avoid losing him for nothing at the end of the season
It is still possible that Roberts will stay at Wearside longer than originally planned.
The Saints may view Roberts as a viable target while he still has more than a year left on his contract.
