Cologne boss breaks silence as Southampton close in on £7m Damion Downs signing

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Southampton will have a new centre-forward spearheading their Championship promotion campaign next season; USA international Damion Downs set to arrive from Bundesliga outfit FC Cologne.

And, after Southampton sold Kamaldeen Sulemana to Atalanta and after Paul Onuachu completed his protracted return to Trabzonspor, the impending arrival of the highly-rated Downs will see the Saints reinvest some of that windfall.

Southampton missed out on Lawrence Shankland when the Hearts captain opted to sign a new deal at Tynecastle. Panathinaikos’ Fotis Ioannodis is obviously far too expensive at a reported £21 million.

Damion Downs, though, falls right into the sweet spot. Attainable yet affordable.

Having only celebrated his 21st birthday on Sunday, meanwhile, Downs also feels like the classic Southampton signing. Brimming with re-sale potential and raw talent which can be shaped by the new chef in the St Mary’s kitchen; Will Still.

Cologne coach Lukas Kwasniok breaks silence as Southampton close in on Damion Downs

Via his official X account on Monday, German reporter Florian Plettenberg claimed that Damion Downs is set to join Southampton after undergoing a medical early this week.

A deal is ‘done and sealed’. A contract arranged until the summer of 2029. Cologne will receive an initial fee of £7 million, rising to £8.5 million with bonuses.

Losing the striker who fired the Cathedral City outfit back to the Bundesliga is hardly the start new Cologne coach Lukas Kwasniok would have wanted.

However, speaking to reporters as he took pre-season training for the first time, the former SC Paderborn boss was keen to focus on the factors he does have control over. Primarily, helping summer recruit Ragnar Ache step into Downs’ shoes.

“I don’t really worry about things I can’t influence,” Kwasniok begins while confirming Downs’ absence from the training pitch. “He’s not here today [Monday] and he won’t be here tomorrow either.

“We’re making sure we work well with the guys we have. We want to improve the guys, and maybe then something will happen.

“I realise there’s talk about who will replace him if he leaves. But we’ve already made a commitment; Ragnar Ache is already here, and we have a great attacking line behind him.

“If we had to play now, we’d put together a really good team. But we’re still trying to optimise it.”

Mauricio Pochettino’s USA striker joins Joshua Quarshie at St Mary’s

Downs is not the first USA international to catch the Saints’ eye.

The Southampton-linked Alex Freeman plays under Mauricio Pochettino at international level too, and he found himself on Johannes Spors’ radar due to the departure of Kyle Walker-Peters. Currently at Orlando City, Freeman is an exciting, attack-minded full-back who should suit a Saints side expected to dominate possession.

Downs, meanwhile, was part of the USA team defeated by Mexico in the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Sunday. He now will travel back across the Atlantic and undergo medical tests at Southampton before putting pen to paper on a four-year deal.

Downs, just three inches shorter than the sky-scraping Onuachu, provided 11 goals and six assists last term as Cologne won the 2.Bundesliga title.

He will become Will Still’s second summer signing, and the second from Germany too. Joshua Quarshie joined Southampton from Hoffenheim earlier in the window.