Yep. Financial fair play working hard
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Clever accounting, they’ve started giving players long contracts so the transfer fee is spread over the duration of the contract.
Fernandez, their latest signing, £107m, 8½ year contract. Effectively he’s costing £12½m a year.
Still a fuckton of money though
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Can anyone breach the paywall for me please?
Inside Southampton’s transfers: Survival-first approach and quenching thirst for a striker
5h ago
Earlier this month, a message was sent to staff inside Staplewood.
Club workers were made aware of the chief objective. Southampton informed them that every decision made in January would be geared towards the short-term aim of survival.
Southampton’s traditional investment in youth underlines a significant focus towards long-term goals, but the precarious nature of their league standing meant the goalposts, albeit temporarily, had shifted. There was an urgency, critical in pushing Sport Republic’s vision through, to ensure safety in their first full season of ownership.
As a result, all inside Staplewood were under no illusions. Players would be targeted to provide instant improvement.
However, it was understandable if the hierarchy’s message came with a note of caution. Several recruitment sources, who, like all others in this article, wished to remain anonymous to protect their relationships with the club, said they were told in the summer that Southampton intended to add experience, only for it not to materialise.
Yet, the signings in this window gave the staff message credence. Mislav Orsic, 30, and James Bree, 25, a player Nathan Jones knows well from his time at Luton Town, were known quantities. In the case of Bree, he was not the type of signing that would usually appeal, but Jones trusted him.
In December, Southampton contacted Bournemouth to ask about the possibility of recalling Jack Stephens from his season-long loan. It was clear, by that point, Jones wanted five centre-backs in his squad to start implementing what many believed was his favoured 3-5-2 shape. Bournemouth rejected the proposal.
Another consideration was recalling Jan Bednarek (another defender), who was on loan at Aston Villa. Southampton did hold an interest in signing Michael Keane on loan for the remainder of the season but Everton would not countenance a loan to a relegation rival. Bednarek did eventually return later in the month.
Southampton found themselves in a similar situation with Danny Ings. The club outlined a loan offer to bring the forward back to St Mary’s, with a reluctancy to sanction a permanent deal for a 30-year-old who has a chequered injury record. Previous issues with both of his knees, particularly his right, signalled too much of a risk.
On the forward front, Southampton were intent on sticking to their policy of only addressing the position if they were able to recruit a significant upgrade on current options. Sport Republic co-founder Rasmus Ankersen, who led January’s operations in the absence of a head of recruitment, was keen to acquire a top-level striker.
Southampton had previously monitored Coventry City striker Viktor Gyokeres during his time at IF Brommapojkarna and sent staff out to Sweden prior to him joining Brighton in 2018. Reports of the 24-year-old being linked with a move to St Mary’s, however, were dismissed by sources close to the player.
Udinese’s Beto was someone Southampton admired, but his acquisition came with competition and always appeared ambitious.
With only days left of the window, Southampton were still trying to bring in a striker. They were in talks with three viable forward options, discounting Lyon’s Moussa Dembele. The Frenchman had previously been of interest, but Southampton chose not to proceed with negotiations on this occasion.
Braga forward Vitinha, however, did placate Southampton’s desire to upgrade significantly. At 22, Vitinha fitted the ideal profile of player, while his goal tally this season — 13 goals in 27 appearances — suggested he could make an immediate impact. Braga had inserted a £26.35m (€30m) release clause into his contract, meaning Southampton knew the parameters of the deal.
Braga’s Vitinha was also on Southampton’s radar but he ended up going to Marseille (Photo: Ulrik Pedersen/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Marseille retained an interest in Vitinha and he was a contingency option for Brighton following a knee injury sustained by Evan Ferguson. By midday, Marseille’s affections tipped the scale and Vitinha was boarding a plane to France.
Meanwhile, Southampton’s pursuit of Rennes forward Kamaldeen Sulemana became protracted over the weekend, due to interest from elsewhere. The day after Southampton had a bid of £17.58million rejected, Everton, seemingly empowered by the £40m cash windfall from Anthony Gordon’s sale, made a verbal offer.
Sulemana had struggled for game time and wanted to leave. Most importantly, Rennes wanted to sell. After Everton and Southampton increased their offers, Sulemana ultimately picked the latter and completed his medical in France. He signed a deal worth €25million (£22.01m) plus €3m in add-ons. The club first started tracking Sulemena during his time at FC Nordsjaelland and had paid close attention to his development since.
Lorient’s Terem Moffi was widely regarded as the best striker on the January market for clubs outside the top six. There were suggestions of Southampton having a £15million bid turned down at the start of the month, with recruitment sources adamant it would represent a huge coup if they managed to pull off the deal.
However, it became clear that Moffi would not be joining after the first week of the window, with sources expressing scepticism as to whether Lorient — co-owned by Bournemouth owner Bill Foley — would sanction any transfer. Southampton’s interest in Moffi began during his time in Lithuania, playing for FK Kauno Zalgiris and FK Riteriai.
Moffi scored 12 goals for Lorient in Ligue 1 this season before joining Nice on deadline day (Photo: Getty Images)
Moffi is managed by Elite Project Group — the same agency that represents two of Southampton’s summer signings, Joe Aribo and Romeo Lavia. Emeka Obasi works in the agency and also has Middlesbrough forward Chuba Akpom, who was another player Southampton were linked with.
Once the pursuit of Moffi faded (who has since joined Nice on loan) and other targets were missed, Southampton reopened lines of communication with Antoine Semenyo’s representatives. Former head of recruitment Joe Shields was an admirer of the Bristol City forward and held discussions over a potential move. But once Shields decided to join Chelsea, Southampton had gone quiet.
Yet, on the weekend of Southampton’s 2-1 win against Everton, head of player insights Tom Stockwell revived the club’s interest in Semenyo. Tentative enquiries were made as to understanding the framework of the deal. Ankersen then got in touch.
A move to Southampton was one of Semenyo’s preferred destinations — similarly to Villarreal forward Nicolas Jackson — due to the club’s reputation for blooding youngsters and Jones’ knowledge of the player from his time in the Championship. But once personal terms were discussed, any move seemed a non-starter, with Bournemouth his eventual destination.
Celtic’s Liel Abada was another discussed, but the sticking point was always the preference to wait until the summer. Like Semenyo, Shields had wanted to sign Abada, with Southampton’s scouts in Scotland tracking both him and his team-mate Josep Juranovic.
Abada was also on Southampton’s list of potential striker signings (Photo: Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)
A move for the Croatian right-back would have likely been a loan with an option to buy at the end of the season, but by this time Bree had been established as Southampton’s first-choice target.
Southampton’s pursuit of Jackson in some ways typified the struggles in signing a dynamic forward. The club had been in daily talks with Jackson’s representatives throughout January, as personal terms were outlined. Finding an agreement initially centred on a six-month loan with an option to buy in the summer.
However, the increasingly likely departure of another Villarreal forward in Arnaut Danjuma meant talks diverted towards finding a permanent deal for Jackson. Villarreal were unwilling to sanction two loan deals due to the financial costs of sourcing a replacement.
Yet, while Southampton and Villarreal haggled over the €20m asking price, Jackson’s hamstring issue remained in the backdrop to discussions.
Southampton were aware of the injury and identified it was worse than Villarreal’s early prognosis. Bournemouth, ultimately, discovered the severity of Jackson’s hamstring issue during his medical, which would keep him out for longer than first expected.
With two weeks left of the window, Southampton had brought two players through the door. The first was Orsic, an experienced Croatia international signed for €6m (£5.3m). The deal was low risk and low reward, despite attempts from Dinamo Zagreb to drive the price up. To some extent, it worked, with Southampton making follow-up bids. Creditably, Southampton were able to keep the figure in a low ballpark relative to Orsic’s age.
Saint Sulemana
pic.twitter.com/Ty1H2fYeI1
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) February 1, 2023
Second was Carlos Alcaraz. Although a €10m (£8.84m) offer was rejected at the start of January, a transfer began to seem inevitable. There was an expectation from Alcaraz’s camp that Southampton would come back with an improved offer and the player himself said early goodbyes to team-mates at Racing Club. A deal was soon struck as Southampton signed Alcaraz for €14m (£15.84m).
Following Alcaraz, Southampton aimed to complete three more signings. The foremost priority had always been a forward, before a No 6 and then a right-back. As The Athletic exclusively reported, they decided on signing a right-back following a setback to Tino Livramento.
One of the key targets in central midfield was Lecce captain Morten Hjulmand. The 23-year-old and his representative are well-known to Ankersen and an offer, past the €10m figure, was rejected by the Serie A outfit.
Still, talks continued until it became apparent in the final week of the window that Southampton were going to focus on strengthening the forward positions. Lecce did not want to sell a key player, especially with the outside threat of relegation. However, sources close to the player and Lecce, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their relationships, said an increased offer might have sealed a move. A transfer was only officially ruled out on the final day of the window.
Southampton’s challenges in finding a solution up front were being caused by inflated prices and peers, such as Bournemouth and Everton shopping in the same market for players.
Any move for Genk striker Paul Onuachu seemed ambitious, given most teams in Belgium used Gent’s sale of Jonathan David to Lille in 2020 for £26.37m (€30m) as a barometer. One interested party in the summer had been quoted £18m (€20.4m) for the striker, only for that figure to have increased in the interim.
“I can’t wait to meet you guys.”
pic.twitter.com/srQXSpOPIu
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) February 1, 2023
Southampton had a bid rejected for Onuachu a week before the window closed. Genk are top of the Belgian Pro League and did not have a lot of time to source a replacement. Onuachu, though, remained keen on a move to the Premier League and dismissed Genk’s offer of an extension, which included a summer release clause. By January 31, both clubs remained in talks but the Belgian side’s reluctance to budge made a swift transaction hard to do.
After Sulemana, Southampton sources did not rule out signing another player but admitted it may hinge on lead investor Dragan Solak paying. Southampton’s follow-up offer of €21m broke Genk’s resistance, with Onuachu undergoing a medical.
An extensive scouting process took place in regard to highly-rated Manchester City youngster Carlos Borges. Southampton scouts have closely monitored the 18-year-old and with City academy influence now at Southampton — first in Shields and then academy director Jason Wilcox — it was a move that appealed. Borges has outlined his desire to get minutes at first-team level, noting the progress made by Samuel Edozie at Southampton. All parties are likely to revisit a potential deal in the summer.
After breaking their club-record fee to sign Sulemana and spending considerably on quenching the thirst for a striker, Southampton are happy with the business done. Tunnel vision ahead, full focus on survival.
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This sends shivers down my spine, lots of them
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I sent a good mate of mine,(a staunch Evertonian), a text yesterday with the news that Everton had signed three strikers on transfer deadline day. A paramedic, a postal worker and a railwayman.
Not sure if he’s still talking to me. 
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Cheers Boberto.
It’s a strange article in so far as it doesn’t make anything beyond a passing reference to our record signing - Sulemana…
I have reread and it does feel like it could have been written by someone working in the SFC PR department.
The manager is not appearing. Wonder why.
Maybe he doesn’t want people who have never managed a football team telling him how to manage a football team…
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Or people who’ve seen good PL managers in action pointing out that he doesn’t fit the bill?
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