Summer Transfer Window 2026

[Chez]

3 minutes ago, Toussaint said:

I don't understand the negativity towards Fellows, the thing with Edozie he's been here quite a while and never progressed beyond  showing potential. 

he was wasteful in front of goal ergo he isn't very good, apparently. To a degree, those with that opinion do have a point. Scoring goals is how you win games of football. But even without goals, I think he offers us a lot, especially control of the football and the game. He's not a PL player and I am not sure he will ever make the same leap Lallana did, but at this level is a decent player. If he can get just add that composure in front of goal it might make all the difference come May.

[sockeye]

58 minutes ago, Saint Garrett said:

I may be completely wrong, but these young hugely promising talents we bring in, never seem to sign a second contract.

Thinking Tino, Lavia, THB, Charles, Fernandes - sure there will be others too. Which always puts us in a tricky position given it's tricky getting value out of them in that first year.

Because we keep getting relegated.

[austsaint]

1 minute ago, Toussaint said:

I don't understand the negativity towards Fellows, the thing with Edozie he's been here quite a while and never progressed beyond  showing potential. 

I'm only operating on memory but Edozie, at 19, made nearly 20 appearances in the Prem the season Ralph was sacked.   Then prior to that injury v Norwich in early 2024 he had scored 6 goals and provided as many assists.     He was then bundled off on loan by Martin, and prior to being given a life line by Tonda, hadn't played much for Saints at all.   It's true he's been at the Club a while but injury and Managers like Martin and Still not rating him has limited his opportunities.

I like Fellows but there is a predictability about his game.  Very seldom tries to take on a defender down the line and has a habit of cutting infield and running into dead ends.   Last time I looked he hasn't troubled the goal statisticians either.

I'd be happy if both are in the squad when the window closes.

[CSA96]

I think people speak about Edozie like he's still a teenager or very early 20s. When in reality he is 24 this season and he still can't cross the ball or take a decent shot. That's a bit of a problem. Fellows is very predictable but he does go past people and his crossing quality is pretty good. A bit floaty sometimes and I'd like to see more pace on the ball but Larin will get on the end of a few this season

[austsaint]

1 minute ago, CSA96 said:

I think people speak about Edozie like he's still a teenager or very early 20s. When in reality he is 24 this season and he still can't cross the ball or take a decent shot. That's a bit of a problem. Fellows is very predictable but he does go past people and his crossing quality is pretty good. A bit floaty sometimes and I'd like to see more pace on the ball but Larin will get on the end of a few this season

Edozie is four months older than Fellows.    I'd say their crossing ability is on a par and if you measure decent shots by goal tallies there's only one winner.

[Chez]

From a depth point of view, we need Edozie don't we or could Akachukwu offer us that?

[Chez]

Just now, austsaint said:

Edozie is four months older than Fellows.    I'd say their crossing ability is on a par and if you measure decent shots by goal tallies there's only one winner.

if you measure by ability to retain the ball when a defender is tight, work rate, willingness to track his man back then Fellows wins on that score. Edozie has the better tricks, but Fellows the better touch. They are very different. That's a good thing, so room for both?

[austsaint]

Just now, Chez said:

From a depth point of view, we need Edozie don't we or could Akachukwu offer us that?

Based on what I've seen of Akachukwu it will be a shame if his pathway is blocked by someone like Edozie, who, as. someone mentioned is out of contract at seasons end.     

[CSA96]

15 minutes ago, austsaint said:

I'd say their crossing ability is on a par

It really isn't

Edited 9 hours ago by CSA96

[Lighthouse]

1 hour ago, sfc4prem said:

You certainly wouldn't want him in the squad of another Championship side.

I don’t think Edozie is crap by any stretch of the imagination but I wouldn’t lose sleep over this.

[sfc4prem]

40 minutes ago, CSA96 said:

I think people speak about Edozie like he's still a teenager or very early 20s. When in reality he is 24 this season and he still can't cross the ball or take a decent shot. That's a bit of a problem. Fellows is very predictable but he does go past people and his crossing quality is pretty good. A bit floaty sometimes and I'd like to see more pace on the ball but Larin will get on the end of a few this season

Fellows can take a decent shot, can he? Edozie pulls players out of position and can beat a man, which in and of itself is a pretty rare commodity, in our squad at least.

[CSA96]

16 minutes ago, sfc4prem said:

Fellows can take a decent shot, can he? Edozie pulls players out of position and can beat a man, which in and of itself is a pretty rare commodity, in our squad at least.

No, he certainly can't in a Saints shirt. But his previous Championship seasons he has turned in 4/5 goals in fairly average to decent WBA sides. However, Fellows can do one of the two things I mentioned well, which is more than can be said for Edozie, who is doing neither of the two well IMO

Edozie is pushing 100 appearances and has a total of six goals (none of which are more recent than 2024) and five assists (with three in a season being his best, which was the 2023/24 season)

Fellows has 26 assists at Championship level and 9 goals over the same period since 2023/24 but has made more appearances, approx 120. Eight assists and 0 goals in his first season at Saints where he wasted his first 3 months playing right back for Will Still because he was convinced Bree couldn't play there and farmed him off to Charlton

I think Edozie needs to drop a level or go to Europe to find his feet a bit. Personally I see very little development from the Edozie who came on for a debut at Molineux in 2023 and the one that plays for us now in 2026 and him leaving the club this summer would be a big old shrug of the shoulders for me. He's not developed as the club would've hoped by this stage and might benefit from a fresh environment with more opportunities and weaker competition

Edited 8 hours ago by CSA96

[Chez]

1 minute ago, CSA96 said:

 

Personally I see very little development from the Edozie who came on for a debut at Molineux in 2023 and the one that plays for us now in 2026 and him leaving the club this summer would be a big old shrug of the shoulders for me. He's not developed as the club would've hoped by this stage and might benefit from a fresh environment with more opportunities and weaker competition

He may even have gone backwards since that game, where he looked confident of his ability to beat a man all ends up Now I am not sure he's sure.

 

[Adkins' Bus]

I prefer Fellows to Edozie. His finishing ability is very questionable, but he creates opportunities for us, sometimes just by crossing the ball in to a good area. 

With Fellows, he will put a cross in by making himself half a yard, whereas the likes of Edozie and Scienza seem to want to beat their man all ends up before delivering. 

[DT]

3 minutes ago, Adkins' Bus said:

I prefer Fellows to Edozie. His finishing ability is very questionable, but he creates opportunities for us, sometimes just by crossing the ball in to a good area. 

With Fellows, he will put a cross in by making himself half a yard, whereas the likes of Edozie and Scienza seem to want to beat their man all ends up before delivering. 

Me too, but what is frustrating is that with both there seems to be more promise than actuality. For me Fellows is too lightweight and floaty, not direct enough, and too often disappoints with his final choice. Edozie can beat a man with pace, and there is a player there, but it looks like he might be chasing 'confidence' for his entire career. Ho hum.

PS saw that Azaz pass again this morning for the goal at the weekend. It was top quality - the difference between the teams

[CamberwellSaint]

This is in the Guardian rumour mill column this morning:

"Losing 4-0 at Brighton is not going to do much for morale but it will make a team take drastic action in the market. Aston Villa have lined up Joel Ordóñez to solve all of their problems for the remainder of the season, if Club Brugge are willing to sell the centre-back"

Signs they are looking elsewhere if we've demanded more for TH-B than they're willing to pay?

Personally, this late in the window, having paid £20m for him 2 years ago and developed him, we'd be silly to take less than £30m. 

[disconnect]

1 minute ago, DT said:

Me too, but what is frustrating is that with both there seems to be more promise than actuality. For me Fellows is too lightweight and floaty, not direct enough, and too often disappoints with his final choice. Edozie can beat a man with pace, and there is a player there, but it looks like he might be chasing 'confidence' for his entire career. Ho hum.

PS saw that Azaz pass again this morning for the goal at the weekend. It was top quality - the difference between the teams

I like both Fellows and Edozie, who are both great at beating a man, and/or winning free kicks. The issue is neither of them (and even Scienza sometimes) are very good at shooting. If they were to improve this and start adding a lot more goals, they'd likely be getting suitors in the Premier League.

Fellows is good at crossing, which is good for players like Larin, whilst Edozie is probably more of a run into the box and cut back player which works well with players like Azaz or Dobbin running in.

With regards to moving either on - we (currently) don't really have much quality depth on the wing as Dobbin isn't really a winger and not sure Akachukwu is either, with both probably being better through the middle? Sillah Dibaga looked promising but very raw. 

[Willo of Whiteley]

11 minutes ago, DT said:

Me too, but what is frustrating is that with both there seems to be more promise than actuality. For me Fellows is too lightweight and floaty, not direct enough, and too often disappoints with his final choice. Edozie can beat a man with pace, and there is a player there, but it looks like he might be chasing 'confidence' for his entire career. Ho hum.

PS saw that Azaz pass again this morning for the goal at the weekend. It was top quality - the difference between the teams

This is really accurate. Fellows is largely poor with his final ball. Excellent at the odd stepover, running down the wing and then passing backwards.

Edozie isn’t a youngster anymore. He’ll never amount to more than EFL player, he flatters to deceive with the odd bit of flair. You can tell he’s low on confidence and needs to play regularly. He’ll never make a career here now.

[Chez]

37 minutes ago, DT said:

Me too, but what is frustrating is that with both there seems to be more promise than actuality. For me Fellows is too lightweight and floaty, not direct enough, and too often disappoints with his final choice. Edozie can beat a man with pace, and there is a player there, but it looks like he might be chasing 'confidence' for his entire career. Ho hum.

Fellows knows his own game, his strengths in terms of dribbling and limitations due to his lack of genuine pace. Edozie hasn't quite worked out how best to use his talent. IMO he needs a full season playing every week to really hone his game - all be it he should be doing it in training and he got a season at Anderlecht. Like every player, confidence is massive, but with wingers, if you are not 'flying' you tend to offer very little value. 
If Dobbin is being played on the left, Edozie seems slightly surplus to requirements. 

Edited 7 hours ago by Chez

[Chez]

12 minutes ago, disconnect said:

With regards to moving either on - we (currently) don't really have much quality depth on the wing as Dobbin isn't really a winger and not sure Akachukwu is either, with both probably being better through the middle? Sillah Dibaga looked promising but very raw. 

did Dobbin play on the left again on Saturday when he came on? What about Akachukwu and Edozie? 

 

[goodymatt]

 

[hypochondriac]

3 minutes ago, goodymatt said:

 

I'm sure he is but if they bid way below his valuation and won't go higher then that shows that they don't value him enough.

[Charlie Wayman]

3 hours ago, Fabrice29 said:

People need to stop quoting these like we don't already have an exciting team. Better than last season will be judged on the outcome at the end obviously but in the very same interview as these quotes Dragan tells us we'll sign cover for Azaz and replace any big hitters that go. We'll do that. 

People quoting these expecting a week of ridiculous signings are doing so deliberately so they can have a dry dig. It's not even subtle. 

Time for a Potter's Heron moment! 

[Doctoroncall]

5 minutes ago, goodymatt said:

 

I wonder if Villa have a star player in the u21s they can sweeten the deal with and hope he turns into a Rogers. 

[hypochondriac]

7 minutes ago, goodymatt said:

 

Surely this gets done at 25? 

[Charlie Wayman]

6 minutes ago, goodymatt said:

 

I wouldn't rule out some background shit stirring from his Father-in-law either. Surprised ManUre haven't made a bid.

[Charlie Wayman]

1 hour ago, disconnect said:

I like both Fellows and Edozie, who are both great at beating a man, and/or winning free kicks. The issue is neither of them (and even Scienza sometimes) are very good at shooting. If they were to improve this and start adding a lot more goals, they'd likely be getting suitors in the Premier League.

Fellows is good at crossing, which is good for players like Larin, whilst Edozie is probably more of a run into the box and cut back player which works well with players like Azaz or Dobbin running in.

With regards to moving either on - we (currently) don't really have much quality depth on the wing as Dobbin isn't really a winger and not sure Akachukwu is either, with both probably being better through the middle? Sillah Dibaga looked promising but very raw. 

Edozie is bloody good at falling over in the penalty area. He got an assist on Sunday. Worth starting him even if this trick works only a half dozen times per season.

[tdmickey3]

14 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

I'm sure he is but if they bid way below his valuation and won't go higher then that shows that they don't value him enough.

Teamtalk.... 🤣

 

[DT]

I wonder if as the noise increases Villa become more desperate and eager to land him. But he is a downgrade, so their fans will not be happy. Tricky. My heart bleeds for them. Kind of want him gone now for 25mill so we can replace with better. Always thought he was a bit 'ego'. Anyone else?

[hypochondriac]

6 minutes ago, DT said:

I wonder if as the noise increases Villa become more desperate and eager to land him. But he is a downgrade, so their fans will not be happy. Tricky. My heart bleeds for them. Kind of want him gone now for 25mill so we can replace with better. Always thought he was a bit 'ego'. Anyone else?

We won't be replacing him with better. We probably do need to get the money for him soon to allow us to get a replacement though.

[benjii]

4 hours ago, goodymatt said:

I see Stewart made his Swans debut at the weekend, 9 mins off the bench. His numbers for us last season (excluding playoffs) were 25 apps, 8G 2A. Only started 11 games, playing 980 mins total. Although he was scoring every 122.5 mins, he only played less than 24% of our league minutes last season. 

Mubama might not be as clinical (he might be for all we know) but I bet he plays more mins and with 1 goal already, he only needs to score 7 in the 44 remaining games to match Stewart’s contribution. Meanwhile Larin is scoring a goal every 100 mins during his 1,001 championship minutes so far, very impressive.

If we can offload enough attacking players then a third option is welcome but I’m not really concerned about  the number 9 position.

We can all see the CM problem without Charles and if THB leaves we need a big signing there. Those 2 signings will dictate how competitive we are over the course of the season for me.

Agreed, and would also like a right back.

[disconnect]

1 hour ago, Chez said:

did Dobbin play on the left again on Saturday when he came on? What about Akachukwu and Edozie? 

 

I think he did and looked better than last week when looked a bit lost there. Preston fans also mentioned he was much better through the middle. No idea re: Akachukwu - I've mainly see him play centrally for u21s. Edozie plays left or right side, so I'd have him as the backup for Scienza. 

[Pilchards]

31 minutes ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Edozie is bloody good at falling over in the penalty area. He got an assist on Sunday. Worth starting him even if this trick works only a half dozen times per season.

If you watch him Saturday he looked for the penalty after leaving his right leg behind.

Personally don’t think it was a penalty but I will take it all day long.

[Chez]

7 minutes ago, DT said:

I wonder if as the noise increases Villa become more desperate and eager to land him. But he is a downgrade, so their fans will not be happy. Tricky. My heart bleeds for them. Kind of want him gone now for 25mill so we can replace with better. Always thought he was a bit 'ego'. Anyone else?

If he goes for £25m you wont get any complaints from me. I've never been all that fussed about him to be honest, but it depends who we replace him with. It's very hard to bring in quality players in the championship.

[Chez]

8 minutes ago, disconnect said:

I think he did and looked better than last week when looked a bit lost there. Preston fans also mentioned he was much better through the middle. No idea re: Akachukwu - I've mainly see him play centrally for u21s. Edozie plays left or right side, so I'd have him as the backup for Scienza. 

I guess one injury and he's on your bench (he may make it anyway considering how many places it has these days)

Scienza Dobbin Edozie
Azaz Dobbin Akachukwu
Fellows Matsuki Edozie

 

[Chez]

6 minutes ago, Pilchards said:

If you watch him Saturday he looked for the penalty after leaving his right leg behind.

Personally don’t think it was a penalty but I will take it all day long.

he is very lightweight. Touch him and he falls over. That can come in handy, as it did on Saturday, but give me a physical handful like Antonio was for us every day of the week. 

[tdmickey3]

30 minutes ago, DT said:

I wonder if as the noise increases Villa become more desperate and eager to land him. But he is a downgrade, so their fans will not be happy. Tricky. My heart bleeds for them. Kind of want him gone now for 25mill so we can replace with better. Always thought he was a bit 'ego'. Anyone else?

Why, Are you just saying that because he may be leaving?

Edited 6 hours ago by tdmickey3

[The Kraken]

14 minutes ago, Pilchards said:

If you watch him Saturday he looked for the penalty after leaving his right leg behind.

Personally don’t think it was a penalty but I will take it all day long.

He was definitely looking for it.  I think it was probably likely to be a foul anyway as the defender barged into the back of him, but it was extremely theatrical.  In that position I'd kind of prefer an attacker to be doing all he can to get a shot in on goal rather than look for the pen, but I'm probably nitpicking.

I haven't seen a replay of the through ball to him yet; at the time it looked miles offside but the TV camera was a bad angle and not showing the whole pitch so I'd imagine it was much closer than first thought.

[goodymatt]

 

[Sir Ralph]

4 hours ago, CSA96 said:

It really isn't

Both of them have the end product of a blind darts player

Edited 5 hours ago by Sir Ralph

[Willo of Whiteley]

@goodymatt has permanent notifications for every Southampton related tweet this summer.

😂

[swedish dave]

7 hours ago, Football Special said:

It does feel that way, what % of our goals last season were scored by players no longer here (or leaving) , must be quite high between Stewart, Charles,THB, plus Jander being unavailable probably for another week at least, thats some key players missing. 

In regards to Scienza, Watford players cynically set out to injure him in the first half last week, he took a battering,  if teams take that approach for now and double up on him we need to make the most of the space that creates for other players. 

If we are looking for "strong points " in our squad there are quite a few, but Charles and Stewart played key 

roles in games last season. A quick analysis of their joint goal-scoring tallies shows that most of their efforts

were match-winning, or at least contributed to important points won.  Whoever replaces them needs to 

contribute goals of that importance. (can't see anyone at present). Jander may still head back to his homeland

and IF... THB does finally move on , it needs key positions to fill and I don't see that quality from those remaining.

 

We are talking about a squad good enough for automatic promotion, and the opening games haven't  excited, 

except that  (like last season's opening home game).. we finally won the points " at the death ". 

Watford was a poor showing, and we certainly didn't look like match-winners.. at 87 minutes on Saturday.

Verdict.  must do (a lot better),  especially in the first half of games. 

 

[LiberalCommunist]

Verdict. Downgrade expectations. It will be less painful. 

[Chez]

54 minutes ago, goodymatt said:

 

if they stall on his transfer the cry from Saints fans is going to be very simple:

"Freeeeeeeee, Nelson De-ossa"

I'll get my coat.

Edited 4 hours ago by Chez

[VectisSaint]

52 minutes ago, goodymatt said:

 

Could link up well with Welington.

[Chez]

36 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

@goodymatt has permanent notifications for every Southampton related tweet this summer.

😂

very handy posts. Nice to chat about possibles, no matter how little truth some links have.

[Give it to Ron]

Coventry offered a 3 year deal to a 33 year old bonkers!

 

[captainchris]

8 hours ago, austsaint said:

I'm only operating on memory but Edozie, at 19, made nearly 20 appearances in the Prem the season Ralph was sacked.   Then prior to that injury v Norwich in early 2024 he had scored 6 goals and provided as many assists.     He was then bundled off on loan by Martin, and prior to being given a life line by Tonda, hadn't played much for Saints at all.   It's true he's been at the Club a while but injury and Managers like Martin and Still not rating him has limited his opportunities.

I like Fellows but there is a predictability about his game.  Very seldom tries to take on a defender down the line and has a habit of cutting infield and running into dead ends.   Last time I looked he hasn't troubled the goal statisticians either.

I'd be happy if both are in the squad when the window closes.

Fellows just isn’t going to improve …. 
definitely Couldnt step up to the premier league and not a top half player in the Championship either imo.

[Matthew Le God]

 

 

[captainchris]

11 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

OK then a week to go. Anyone want to predict what the squad will look like? I reckon Jander goes along with bbd and Archer, Downs out on loan. We keep Scienza and then signings are 

Backup gk 

CB

CM x2 

Versatile attacking signing 

A lot to do there. Hopefully Jander stays so that means one less signing to do. 

You think we let Jander AND Charles go lol …. That would clearly be madness…. We already have four goalies and you want another one!