After a historic unbeaten run, Southampton’s form has taken a disappointing turn in recent weeks with their most recent 3-0 defeat against a weakened Liverpool side in the FA Cup summing things up. Nonetheless, perhaps still with Championship promotion in mind, the Saints have reportedly turned their attention towards summer reinforcements.
Southampton transfer news
As things stand, Southampton sit five points adrift of Leeds United and Ipswich Town in the race to secure automatic promotion. This comes after back-to-back defeats against Hull City and Millwall in the Championship, before crashing out of the FA Cup at Anfield. Having enjoyed such an impressive run earlier in the season, Russell Martin will be incredibly disappointed if his side’s current blip ends with promotion failure this season.
That said, whether they fail in their pursuit of promotion or, indeed, make it to the Premier League this season, it looks as though the Saints are in the race to sign Festy Ebosele. According to Udinese Blog, Southampton are eyeing a move to sign Ebosele alongside Everton, West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Watford and Leeds United in a busy race for his signature.
Given the Premier League clubs interested in the Udinese winger, Southampton would certainly benefit from earning promotion this season, particularly over fellow interested party and promotion-hopefuls Leeds. As the summer transfer window approaches, it looks as though Ebosele will have a crucial decision to make.
Having previously played for Derby County before leaving for the Serie A back in the summer of 2022, Ebosele has the chance to make his return to English football this summer.
“Quick” Ebosele can replace David Brooks
As impressive as David Brooks has been on loan from Bournemouth – recording three goal involvements in six Championship games – Southampton will be without the Welshman come the start of the summer, as he returns to the Cherries. And that creates the need for a replacement in the form of Ebosele.
The 21-year-old Irishman, a wing-back who can play further forward, already has Championship experience to his name, having featured 38 times in the competition for Derby during his time at Pride Park.
It was during that spell that Ebosele earned the praise of former manager Wayne Rooney, who said via The Irish Sun: “He has got so much. He has still, obviously, got a lot more to learn and a lot of improvement to make but you can see his development since the start of the season. Not just technically – he is raw and quick and can beat a player – but his fitness levels have improved massively as well. It is a credit to how he has been training.”
Still a young talent with plenty of time to improve, Southampton will hope to beat the likes of Everton and Leeds United to Ebosele’s signature this summer, with or without promotion.
