Southampton: The 2013/14 Season Preview

Victor Wanyama of Southampton duels for the ball against Barnils of UE Llagostera during a friendly at the Josep Pla i Arbones Stadium on July 17, 2013 in Girona, Spain. (Getty Images)

2) Changes for 2013/14

A host of players who’d served Southampton admirably during their rise through the divisions were released at the beginning of June, including defenders Frazer Richardson and Danny Butterfield. Midfielder Richard Chaplow – who spent the end of last season on loan at Millwall – also departed after his contract was mutually terminated.

Another defender, Norwegian Vegard Forren, was bizarrely sold back to Norwegian club Molde, whom he had left to join Saints in January. Forren didn’t make a single first-team appearance for the club.

It has become a recurring theme with Saints in recent transfer windows to be linked seemingly to every player under the sun. And when news of an official bid finally does emerge, one can expect it to take up to a month before any deal is confirmed.

This is the case with Kenyan Victor Wanyama, signed from Celtic for a reported fee of £12.5 million. From news first breaking of a Saints bid for the 22-year-old midfielder, it took over a month for the parties to thrash out a deal.

In addition to Wanyama, Southampton have also signed 24-year-old Croatian international centre-back, Dejan Lovren from Lyon, for a fee reckoned to be in the region of £8.5 million.

Both of these signings have delighted Saints’ fans, and will be seen as massive statements of intent by other teams clubs rivalling the south coast club for a top-half finish.

3) Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths:

With the record addition of Kenyan defensive midfield player, Wanyama, Southampton’s midfield looks to be the strongest for a while on the South Coast. Schneiderlin, 23, and Wanyama, 22, look set to play as the two deep-lying midfielders, with Jack Cork, 24, providing a more than capable back-up.

Any three from Gaston Ramirez, Adam Lallana, Jason Puncheon and Jay Rodriguez will sit ahead of them, and at an average age of just 24, the future is bright for Southampton’s midfield and fans are licking their lips at the prospect of watching the sextet in action.

Weaknesses:

Ask any Southampton fan what their Achilles’ heel was last term, and they will reply without pausing to think: the defence.

Early on in the season, Saints struggled, as comical defensive errors became almost synonymous with the then manager, Adkins’s side. By the time they had kept their first clean sheet, on 25th November, with a 2-0 home victory over the underachieving Newcastle, Saints had already shipped 30 goals in 12 games – a league high.

Despite improvement later on in the campaign, the defence remains a problem. The £8.5 million addition of Lovren plugs a hole, but the lack of depth still concerns many. The first choice back four of Nathaniel Clyne, Maya Yoshida, Dejan Lovren and Luke Shaw looks strong on paper, but if injuries were to strike, frailties would again be exposed.

As it stands for instance, Clyne is the only recognised right-back in the squad.

4) Key players

More will be expected of Uruguayan attacking midfield player, Ramirez, who was signed on deadline day in August for £12 million. The 22-year-old struggled to make his presence felt at times last year as he struggled with form and fitness throughout the campaign.

But the former Bologna player will have a point to prove this term after his season ended disappointingly after being sent off for lashing out at Irishman Shane Long in the 3-0 home defeat to West Brom.

Ramirez has already stated this summer that he wants to repay the trust shown in him by the club, and after some average performances in June’s Confederations Cup for Uruguay, the attack-minded midfielder will be looking to show that he isn’t all talk and no action.

Expect him to shine, as he continues his acclimatisation to life in England and the relentless pace of the Premier League. It is easy to forget that Ramirez is only 22.