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Southampton were tipped as pre-season favourites for promotion in 2025/26, but they’ve so far failed to live up to those expectations and the reason is obvious.
After enduring one of the worst campaigns in the Premier League era, Southampton dropped to the Championship and desperately needed a shake-up.
Will Still has come in as manager and he’s so far been able to keep the majority of his squad intact. But, when it comes to new Southampton signings, there’s been a distinct lack of activity.
Now, after a surprising defeat to Stoke City this weekend, Saints fans have been very vocal about what needs to change in the next week of the transfer window.
Southampton fans want another new striker
Interestingly, Southampton have the highest xG of any team in the second tier after three games. The Saints have clocked up 7.20 xG, but have only scored four goals. In comparison, high-scoring Coventry City have bagged 12 goals against an xG of 5.80 to be ranked second for the metric.
Taking to Twitter/X, Southampton fans have made their feelings clear on the matter, telling the club to invest in a new striker before the transfer window closes on September 1st.
One fan wrote, “Needed to sign a proper proven striker and we haven’t,” while another added, “Do not understand how that hasn’t been number one priority for a long time.”
Elsewhere, one supporter highlighted the fact that Southampton knew their fate long before any other team last season, tweeting: “What’s concerned me is we have weeks more prep than other teams but feel we are miles behind. And the two early signings we made don’t look good enough, so serious changes needed in window this week.”
Southampton may have signed Damion Downs for £7m this summer, but clearly it’s not enough. And this is a problem that’s persisted for some time, with another fan adding, “Is that four or five years that we have all been saying this?”
However, there is a caveat to all of this. Many fans believe that even if Southampton did find a new striker, they would struggle given the players around them and the quality of chances created.
One Saints fan wrote: “Doesn’t matter how good or how many strikers we sign. If everyone behind them decides to slow down play or turn back then the strikers are isolated.”
Another simply said: “You name any striker who will score goals when we have no creative outlet? I’ll wait.”
Potential strikers Southampton could sign
Granted, we understand Southampton need to sell before they buy, but with a Tyler Dibling move on the horizon the club must surely be earmarking some funds to improve the attacking roster.
If they were serious about their intentions to get promoted, Southampton could and should test Coventry’s resolve for Haji Wright. He’s a proven goalscorer at this level and would surely deliver what the Saints need.
Likewise, someone like Mihailo Ivanovic at Millwall would be a costly but effective signing. The Lions don’t want to sell him, but they said the same about Japhet Tanganga and he appears to be going anyway.
One thing’s for sure, if Southampton don’t make the right signing soon, they’ll be left behind by the top clubs in the division.