Southampton fan Tom Oliver gives his verdict on Southampton’s transfer business this summer – An exclusive just for Stokoe’s Blog!

Is it wheeling and dealing at its best? Lallana, Lambert and Lovren all leave. Southampton pocket a tasty £40m profit, all is rosy on the South Coast.

Could Southampton be the Atletico Madrid of England, finding ways of reinventing themselves after disappointing outgoings?

It has been a tough time at Southampton this summer, then to compound miseries highly rated and sought after manager Mauricio Pochettino departed for Spurs.

With Ronald Koeman coming in and taking the helm, one positive has been their transfer business; a profit of £40 million is astounding for a club of Southampton’s stature.

The big question remains can Southampton improve on last season’s impressive form despite the high profile outgoings?

Change of approach, change in results?

Southampton was at times last season mesmerising, the flair and pace of their play was beautiful. Pochettino had a team that would work for each other, a team that pushed each other. Last season they surprised the Premier League. Stars were born, careers enhanced. Southampton, are on the up.

Southampton has opted for Ronald Koeman, a manager with vast experience.

His approach will be different, more measured, more astute some would say. But it should bring results.

Tom is already starting to see a change in play: “we seem to be playing with three central midfielders rather than two.”

Could this be the new Southampton? Is Koeman encouraging Southampton to be more compact, organised?

It is the same old motto each manager comes with a different style. Koeman certainly has his. It is trusted, it has worked. Why change it.

Under Pochettino that added spice and pace is what won Southampton games. With the departure of Lallana they will definitely miss the creativity and injection of fresh and off the cuff ideas.

But were Southampton one dimensional under the Argentine manager?

Tom feels they were: “that change in pace may well be a more dangerous weapon under Pochettino, but we never had a plan B.”

With the additions that Koeman has made it does seem as though Southampton have options, talented options, options that can still change a game.

Adam Lallana was the attacking spark of the team, he will be dearly missed.

“Lallana is incredibly difficult to replace” says Tom, he scored nine goals and notched up five assists last year for the Saints finding someone to replace him is vital, step forward Dusan Tadic.

“Tadic looks great, everytime he gets the ball he looks dangerous”

He comes with an impressive record from the Eredivisie.

Last season in 33 appearances for FC Twente he scored 16 and setup 14. Compared to last season’s Premier League statistics, Steven Gerrard created the most chances with 14 assists. If Tadic manages to replicate his form in the Premier League, he will be a lethal player.

Out with the old and in with the new – Will Southampton’s additions bring success?

Success always seems to bring the big clubs knocking. That club was Liverpool.

There has been a fresh influx of new players, players that could propel Southampton to another high finish.

In full here is Southampton’s business (incomings only):

Sadio Mane – £11.5m from Salzburg

Shane Long – £12m from Hull City

Dusan Tadic – £10.9m from FC Twente

Florin Gardos – Undisclosed fee from S. Bucharest

Toby Alderweireld – on loan from Atletico Madrid

Graziano Pelle – £8m from Feyenoord

Ryan Bertrand – on loan from Chelsea

Fraser Forster – £10m from Celtic

Let’s have a look at these signings more closely.

Will they rise or will they perish in a harsh Premier League?

Another high profile departure from Southampton was Dejan Lovren. The impressive Croatian was a rock at the back for the Saints.

He was commanding, physical and could play with the ball. A feature that is prominent in modern day centre backs.

I am going to make you aware now, I call them ‘pipe-bombs’ one is coming up in the next few words, “Alderweireld is a better defender than Lovren” Tom says.

That is a bold statement, Alderweireld is certainly a promising player, but is Toby Alderweireld truly better than Dejan Lovren?

Tom said: “Don’t forget Lovren missed five weeks last season, and after injury many will agree he was carried by Fonte.”

Lovren obviously has the Premier League experience; his first season in English football got him his move to Liverpool that has to count for something.

Let’s have a look at the stats from last season and see if we can shed light on this intriguing dilemma:

Dejan Lovren – 2013-2014 Stats – Southampton (Defensive and Offensive Contributions)

Appearances – 31

Total Tackles – 61

Total Interceptions – 84

Total Fouls – 26

Total Offside’s won – 43

Total Clearances – 242

Total Shots Blocked – 9

Goals -2

Assists – 1

Total Shots – 23

Total Key Passes -4

Avg Passes – 1627

Pass Success Rate -82% (1334/1627)

Toby Alderweireld – 2013-2014 Stats – Atletico Madrid (Defensive and Offensive Contributions)

Appearances – 12

Total Tackles – 27

Total Interceptions – 12

Total Fouls – 5

Total Offside’s won – 2

Total Clearances – 58

Total Shots Blocked – 7

Goals -1

Assists – 0

Total Shots – 5

Total Key Passes -0

Avg Passes – 286

Pass Success Rate -74.1% (212/286)

This is how the stats breakdown.

I will leave you Saints fans to ponder who is better.

But I will leave you with this parting thought the Premier League is a lot different to La Liga, he will have to adjust quickly.

Luke Shaw at such a young age proved to be a revelation in the Pocchettino side, the attacking full back display’s merited a place in Roy Hodgson’s World Cup squad.

Again he left for big money to Manchester United. He is a piece in Van Gaal’s jigsaw to return United to the summit of English football.

But Tom has been pleased with his replacement, Ryan Bertrand: “Bertrand has slotted in seamlessly” at least that is something we can agree on Tom!

Bertrand is of similar ilk to Shaw. Attacking, direct, and most of all has that potential to be another talented English player.

Southampton. Selling club or not?

Southampton does not want to be labelled as a selling club, but they have used their resources well, thus the term ‘selling club’ shouldn’t grate on Saints fans. It is part of parcel of modern day football.

“As a selling club? No. We did not cave in with regards to Schneiderlin and Jay Rodriguez.”

But Southampton cannot afford to have another mass exodus; they need to keep a nucleus of players, players that could potentially push the Saints onto new heights.

Looking at Southampton, there could be parallels drawn with Atletico Madrid of Spain. They seem to have the proverbial stuffing knocked out their team each summer with high profile players leaving – but does such a comparison fair on both sides?

Tom’s opinion: “the comparisons with Atletico are pretty fanciful. We set players up for great careers but aren’t the finishing school Atletico are… the closest comparison is probably the stripes!”

Southampton has a marvellous track record in setting up players for truly wonderful careers. Look at Theo Walcott currently at Arsenal; he was brought up through the youth system at St. Marys.

The glaring example is Gareth Bale. The Real Madrid superstar started his career at Southampton, and he has the attributes to become one of the worlds finest.

Southampton has a knack, call it a gift, for nurturing talent. But are their efforts recognised?

“I feel the club isn’t given enough credit in general for the work it has done” says Tom’s alluding to the proven track record of Southampton producing world class players.

Tom feels their reputation as a club has been slightly damaged after the number of departures, “Last year we were fashionable, now it is fashionable to label us as in turmoil.”

Southampton has proved and will continue to prove their worth when it comes to the developmental aspect of players.

£40m profit, could this healthy margin potentially bring renewed success in the future

“We got huge money for those players; in isolation each deal was brilliant” Tom’s reaction to the huge profit made.

But where should the money go, reinvesting into the team, improve an already excellent infrastructure? The possibilities are endless.

Southampton has used this process to their advantage, signings players that have filled the voids left by the three ‘L’s’.

“I want the money invested in more of the same, well thought out buys (more like Tadic, less like Osvaldo) and we can be very good.” said Tom.

Southampton might have to consolidate and allow the team to gel this season; they are too good to go down but are short of a few quality players to challenge for a Europa League place. But next year could be their time.

Koeman has inherited a project, a tantalising one, a project filled with optimism. A project that could bear fruits aplenty in the long-term.