Southampton get bid for exceptional £15m target deal

As of right now, Southampton is the “frontrunner” to complete a deal for their top transfer target this summer.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis’ permanent arrival and Adam Lallana’s free transfer, who brings a wealth of Premier League experience, were already warmly received by Russell Martin.

Two more first-team additions appear likely to arrive soon: Brentford midfielder Saman Ghoddos, who is also scheduled to become a free agent at the end of June, and Ryan Fraser, a loanee from the previous campaign.

Though it’s no secret, Southampton’s primary transfer goal this summer is to sign Flynn Downes permanently. According to recent reports, they may be getting closer to making a deal.

Southampton is getting closer to signing Flynn Downes.
Last summer, Downes joined St Mary’s on loan, and Martin was eager to get the player he had managed at Swansea City into the team.

Martin was eager to work with Downes again because, as Swansea manager, he had to sell him to West Ham United for £12 million. Martin felt that Downes was essential to his possession-based approach.

Martin got what he wanted, but everyone at Southampton knows how important a return will be following a season in which he proved his worth to the club’s supporters.

Good news on that front: according to Give Me Sport, Southampton is the “frontrunner” to sign him, and West Ham will probably need to release players before adding new ones.

Although Southampton was worried that Julen Lopetegui’s arrival would ruin their chances of getting Downes, who was previously out of favour, it appears that the Spaniard is willing to approve a move for the 25-year-old.

According to the report, Southampton is hoping to lock down Downes’ future for less than £15 million and is eager to do so before preseason play begins.

The reason Downes is Southampton’s transfer priority

After contracting food poisoning in the summer of 2023, Downes arrived at Southampton and appeared to be moving slowly in his first few games, which made supporters wonder if Martin was keen to sign the midfield player.

But the former Ipswich Town player soon proved his worth, and the supporters of St. Mary’s soon came to adore his all-action displays, in which he controlled the game’s tempo while in possession and raced endlessly out of it.

After a particularly impressive victory over Birmingham City last season, Martin waxed poetic about Downes, saying: “Flynn has been monstrous.” He is a beast on the pitch in terms of physicality and poise.

Because it’s really difficult to be that guy, his teammates truly value the job he plays.

“In England, we don’t develop it very well. Actually, we haven’t created a very good one. Players such as Rodri are found in different nations because they play a crucial role in positional play.

He is really important to us. He has been outstanding and has really stepped up. He maintains the ball rolling and offers the squad an advantage. He pushes the ball forward aggressively. His next move is to have that kind of an impact on games.

The fact that Southampton only won two of the ten league games in which Downes missed action after signing, with no one able to suitably fill the role of holding midfielder, best illustrates how crucial Downes was to the team’s promotion push.

Downes is a master at being Southampton’s midfield metronome; in the Championship last season, he averaged an incredible 74.46 passes per game and maintained a pass completion percentage of 93.38%, according to Footy Stats.

As the season progressed, Downes increasingly shown his effectiveness when driving forward with the ball, managing to score two goals and dish out three assists in the league despite his deep starting position.

He is a great asset on defence as well because he acts as a barrier to defend the backline.

Given how valuable he is both with and without the ball, Downes was in the top 19% for tackles (2.27 per 90) and in the top 10% of midfielders for interceptions made with 46 (1.51 per 90).

Shea Charles and Will Smallbone all had opportunities to step in at the base of the midfield when he was out, but whoever took Downes’ place saw a major decline in build-up and protection.

Given this, it should come as no surprise that Downes is Southampton’s top target this summer and that signing him for less than £15 million would is likely fans would consider that a steal.