Southampton have reportedly made a first move to sign an in-demand free agent for manager Russell Martin
The Saints have had a busy few months both on and off the pitch following relegation from the Premier League to the Championship last season.
Martin came in as the club’s new manager and wasted no time in adding to the squad. At the end of the window, Southampton brought in a total of eight new players.
Shea Charles and Ross Stewart commanded relatively big fees for a second-tier side from Manchester City and Sunderland, whereas Ryan Manning and Joe Lumley arrived on free transfers
Meanwhile, four Premier League players – Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Mason Holgate, Flynn Downes and Ryan Fraser – signed on loan from Manchester City, Everton, West Ham United and Newcastle United
There were also a number of departures, with Southampton bringing in over £150m in player sales. The likes of Romeo Lavia, Tino Livramento, James Ward-Prowse, Nathan Tella, Mohammed Salisu, Moussa Djenepo and Mislav Orsic all made permanent exits.
Martin was looking forward to the prospect of focusing on football and not the transfer window, though, saying:
The best bit of the job is when you get to work with the players on the grass. The fewer disruptions you have, the bigger the focus is from the players.
“I think as a club we’ve navigated through this window of change so well. But we will still improve and the window shutting will definitely help with that.