Southampton manager Russell Martin has disclosed a key tidbit concerning the 2023 summer transfer window.
Recruitment for the 23/24 season began, with the Saints hoping to return to the Premier League at the earliest opportunity.
This goal was shared by fellow demoted teams Leeds United and Leicester City, and in this scenario, only two of the three could advance automatically if they were to finish at the top of the league.
That’s exactly how things would have turned out if it hadn’t been for the meddling kids known as Ipswich Town, who sprang out of nowhere to surprise everyone.
Leicester will be crowned champions, and Town can claim the second automatic promotion slot with a point at home to Huddersfield Town this weekend.
| Championship Table (As it stands May 3rd) | ||||
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Leicester City (C) | 45 | 50 | 97 |
| 2 | Ipswich Town | 45 | 33 | 93 |
| 3 | Leeds United | 45 | 39 | 90 |
| 4 | Southampton | 45 | 23 | 84 |
Although Martin and his players had high hopes and expectations, the Scotsman may not have had the same confidence that everything would go as planned, as one issue that he has disclosed may have derailed the entire operation.
Russell Martin offers important Southampton summer transfer window details.
The people of St Mary’s enjoyed a busy summer window, both incoming and exiting.
They added some young talent in the form of Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Shea Charles, some elite Championship players in the form of Ryan Manning and Ross Stewart, and a pair of experienced veterans in Mason Holgate and Ryan Fraser.
However, the squad lost many of its key players from the 22/23 season. James Ward-Prowse has passed away. Roméo Lavia has passed away. Tino Livramento has passed away. Mohammed Salisu, Armel Bella-Kotchap, and Carlos Alcaraz have all passed away.
This season’s squad was vastly different from the previous one, and the club’s new Scottish manager has admitted that he had to deal with numerous requests to quit shortly after taking over.
Martin, speaking to Alfie House prior of the regular season’s final game against Leeds, stated: “If you showed me where we are now, when two-thirds of the squad told me they wanted to leave on the first day, then I would probably be quite happy and a bit surprised.”
Southampton began the 23/24 season with a small disadvantage.
Teams are relegated to the Championship, and Premier League teams come in to try to pick off their finest players for a lower price; that is how things work. Southampton was more affected than the other two relegated teams due to their league-bottom result.
Leeds loaned out several of its players, although crucial contributors such as Wilfried Gnonto, Crysencio Summerville, and Dan James remained.
Leicester’s disappointment grew when James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, and Youri Tielemans all left for pastures new.
Southampton’s departures resulted in a lower level of Premier League performance compared to the Foxes and Whites, despite their overall value being more than the players lost.
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