Southampton star may be annoyed QPR transfer failed - Will Still appears to have made his mind up | OneFootball

Ronnie Edwards came close to a return to Loftus Road in the summer window

Southampton and Queens Park Rangers currently find themselves at varying ends of the spectrum when it comes to strength-in-depth and financial resources despite being on a 'level' playing field when it comes to their current divisional standpoint.

The Saints may have become, officially, the second-worst team in Premier League history after beating Derby County's unwanted 11-point haul by a solitary figure under Russell Martin and Ivan Juric, but that doesn't dispute the overall quality that remains throughout their squad in comparison to several of their current Championship rivals.

Add such developments to the appointment of Will Still prior to the conclusion of their relegation season last time out, and it's not hard to figure out why so many supporters of the South Coast outfit - or their rivals, for that matter - alongside several pundits, believed that this could be yet another special season at St Mary's.

Despite overseeing a major squad reshuffle during his first pre-season and summer transfer window in charge of the club, as well as English football as a whole, many believe that the 32-year-old has an 'embarrasment of riches' at his disposal in so many departments, with the defence being one of those.

That is regardless of the fact that Southampton only added four new bodies to their rearguard this summer in the form of George Long, Mads Roerslev, Elias Jelert and Joshua Quarshie.

However, one of the players which Still inherited, in the form of Ronnie Edwards, is likely to now feel even more aggrieved after failed transfer developments of his own, especially now the Saints boss seems rather content with his first-choice centre-back partnership.

Will Still has preferred Harwood-Bellis & Stephens partnership over Ronnie Edwards

At present, Still has five natural centre-back options at his disposal, with Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Jack Stephens fronting the order over the likes of Edwards, Quarshie and Nathan Wood.

This, perhaps, doesn't come as the greatest surprise. After all, Harwood-Bellis remains one of the Championship's best centre-backs and was linked with a move of - eventually - up to £20m to West Ham after being a shining light in a dismal season, of which the highlight was marking his senior England debut with a goal in a 5-0 win over Ireland.

Meanwhile, Stephens had previously led the club back to the top-flight as captain back in 2023/24, and penned a new three-year contract before the opening competitive fixture of Still's reign against Wrexham on August 9th.

The aforementioned encounter is, ironically, the only league game which Edwards has started in, playing in a back-three alongside Stephens and Quarshie, whilst his only other league cameo came through a two-minute showing against Watford.

Edwards became one of the EFL's hottest properties during a stellar spell with Peterborough United, which resulted in his £3m switch on a four-year contract to the South Coast.

However, with minutes now looking few and far between for the 22-year-old, he has every reason to feel frustrated that the opportunity of featuring week-in, week-out for his former loan side, QPR, had been taken away from him, at least for the time being.

Despite a mixed end to Marti Cifuentes' reign in W12, one of the Spaniard's final plus points was the loan signing of Edwards in January, with his performances immediately making him a firm favourite among Hoops supporters.

The England Under-21 international found the back of the net on two occasions, although, as expected, the vast majority of plaudits which came his way were down to his dominant and composed showings at the back and sometimes at the base of midfield as the Rs ended in mid-table.

Despite a changing of the guard at Loftus Road, it showcased how much the club had endeared themselves to the defender, as he was keen to return, before Southampton put a stop to such proceedings.