Southampton should turn to Liverpool to further launch their promotion push | OneFootball

Southampton should try to sign Liverpool midfielder Trey Nyoni in the January transfer window, be it on loan or perhaps on a permanent deal.

After a woeful start to the campaign which led to the sacking of Will Still, Southampton are now getting themselves up and running for a genuine promotion push in the Championship with the Saints finding excellent form under Tonda Eckert.

As Saints continue to drive themselves up the second-tier table, they will be looking ahead to the January transfer window already to strengthen once again and one man that they should look to bring in is Liverpool youngster Trey Nyoni.

Southampton suffered a humiliating relegation from the Premier League last season and then endured a difficult summer in which a lot of business had to be done late due to the delayed departures and sales of several key first-teamers.

That led to a bit of a mish-mash of a squad that Still struggled to get to grips with but the last few weeks has seen a massive turnaround with Eckert preferring to stick with a back three, rather than chop and change like Still, allowing Southampton to find some cohesion moving forward.

One area of the pitch that perhaps needs a bit of improvement, both in terms of quality as well as depth, would be the midfield and Nyoni could be an ideal signing for the south coast outfit.

Tonda Eckert could do with more control in Southampton’s midfield

The deliberate and fairly pragmatic style of football that was attempted to be implemented by Will Still saw Southampton try and control the play.

The English-Belgian coach was outspoken in his desire to play a little more direct than previous managers, such as Russell Martin, but was struggling to get that message across with Saints often punished despite having more of the ball and territory in matches.

Tonda Eckert has relinquished whatever was holding the players back from carrying out that process and that has led to some superb attacking displays, such as recent home wins against Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion, as well as a win at Charlton Athletic in a game in which they were 5-0 up by half-time.

Suffocating and overwhelming their opposition within the first-half has become a bit of a routine under Eckert but in all three of those matches they have ended up losing the second-half.

While completely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things and obviously something dictated by the state of the game at the time, it would suggest that sustaining their intensity and then managing games has been a slight, very minor issue but a slight and very minor issue that should be managed before it becomes a bigger concern and Saints aren’t running in three goals before the break.

They have the highest average possession in the league, according to FotMob, albeit that overall percentage has fallen under the management of Eckert with the second most accurate passes per match of 392.8.

However, the top four players with the most accurate passes per game for Saints so far this season have all been defenders with Ronnie Edwards, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Nathan Wood and Jack Stephens topping that chart.

Shea Charles, Caspar Jandar and Flynn Downes, players who, for a team just relegated and with their resources, are in a position of the pitch that should really be the ones most dictating the game.

That would suggest that Southampton are a side that are outstanding in transition, with the attacking midfielders such as Leo Scienza and Finn Azaz finding form in behind striker Adam Armstrong, with the defenders capable of playing on the ball and baiting the press from the opposition. That lack of control is also perhaps shown by the fact that they have kept just one clean sheet in this recent improved run of form of seven matches.

However, as is often the case from sides benefitting from slight tactical shifts as well as the so-called ‘new manager bounce’, there will always be a concern that they need to evolve in order to counteract when sides figure out a way to nullify their current efficiency and speed of attack.

That will require more control in midfield and another body in the middle of the park certainly wouldn’t go amiss with those three of Charles, Jandar and Downes only really backed up in the squad by Oriol Romeu and youngster Cam Bragg.

For tactical reasons, as well as depth, there is a need perhaps for another midfielder to be brought in during the winter and Nyoni would appear the ideal fit for that signing.

Trey Nyoni could be another gem for Southampton

Having represented England between U16 and U20 level, Trey Nyoni is a highly-rated talent that has been used in the Liverpool first-team squad for the last couple of seasons, having made six appearances for the Reds across all competitions.

He hasn’t necessarily shone yet, admittedly, but that is something that should benefit Saints as they should seek to pounce on a not yet matured talent before anyone else can, especially with the 18-year-old Reading-born midfielder out of contract next summer.

Southampton have made a habit of that in the past, recycling talents that couldn’t quite break into the first-team at a top club before selling on for a high fee with Romeo Lavia the best example, especially considering he is also a midfielder, with the Belgian sold on to Chelsea for about £53 million just a year after his £10.5 million move to St Mary’s from Manchester City.

Described as so-called ‘number eight’ by Andy Hunter of The Guardian in 2023, Nyoni is well regarded for his ability to drive forward with the ball and would surely therefore fit the mould of eventually developing into an all-action midfield player.

If Southampton are to stick with their 3-4-2-1 system that is paying off for them so well, and what the rest of the squad appears to suit, then finding a midfielder who has the ability to retain possession to a high level but also be a line-breaker will be key to sustaining their success – and Nyoni falls into that category.

Saints are playing well but there is an element of doubt as to whether or not they need a slightly different profile in midfield, both for technical and tactical reasons as well as depth, and Nyoni would appear to be a smart signing should they pursue a move this winter.