Southampton transfer plans revealed - fans are concerned about one thing | OneFootball

Saints supporters have been left concerned as Johannes Spors outlined the club's upcoming transfer plans

Southampton supporters have been reacting in numbers to a fresh update regarding the club's transfer policy for the upcoming winter window from technical director, Johannes Spors.

The first four months of the Championship season have been extremely tumultuous, to say the very least, at St Mary's, despite the fact that the Saints were tipped, by many, to immediately compete for automatic promotion back to the Premier League.

Such claims came after the South Coast outfit endured - statistically speaking - the second-worst campaign in the history of the top-flight, only accumulating one more point than the all-time low record held by Derby County ever since 2007/08, although Wolverhampton Wanderers are currently the latest side in line to be attached to talk surrounding the unwanted feat.

A long-term rebuild was initially envisaged as under-fire ownership group, Sport Republic, along with the aforementioned Spors, moved to appoint Will Still on a three-year contract prior to the conclusion of last season.

Despite plenty of player turnover across the summer, with high-profile names such as Aaron Ramsdale, Mateus Fernandes and Tyler Dibling departing amongst others, a raft of nine incomings, including hefty fees paid to Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion for Finn Azaz and Tom Fellows, meant that a high sense of expectation still surrounded the club as they prepared for a second campaign at this level in three seasons.

It has been well-documented that the 32-year-old lasted just 13 games in charge, with a 2-0 home defeat to Preston North End proving the final straw after a run of one win in 12, before Tonda Eckert was handed the reins on an initial interim basis.

However, Saints are now looking upwards under the German's management, with a run of six wins in seven goals and 21 goals scored coinciding with the reward of a permanent contract until 2027 for the former Under-21s head coach.

As such, attention has now turned to the club's short-term transfer plans as they find themselves among a clutch of sides vying for the top six. However, it is fair to say that Spors' fresh revelations haven't exactly gone down well.

Speaking to the Daily Echo, Spors, who has been linked with a potential switch to VfL Wolfsburg, revealed that Saints will not be flexing their financial muscle in January despite registering a sizeable profit in the summer.

"We won't be big spenders in January for two reasons," said Spors. "The club is not in a position to let us be big spenders, and we don't need it.

"It's a small window, the big build is in the summer. In the winter, we work on bits and pieces here and there, but we want to give stability to the group.

"The club is secure, but we know that in the summer, we will have to work hard on the squad, whether we are in the Premier League or Championship," he added.

"Not so much in January. We have maybe one or two players who don't get enough minutes, one or two who see themselves somewhere else.

"We have some ideas of what we maybe could do. We're looking into this, but there is not really one position on the pitch where we say, 'We have to," Spors claimed.

"It's very stable in every position, I would say, and I want to give Tonda enough time to figure out how to solve problems rather than just change players."

Another Saints supporter stated that a new goalkeeper is a must, given the constant rotation between Gavin Bazunu and Alex McCarthy.

This continued to be the general consensus, as another fan was in complete agreement.

However, there are some supporters who believe that drastic changes are not needed next month.

And, whilst believing that goalkeeper remains a priority position, another fan believes that a replacement for the aforementioned duo could be sourced on the loan market.

Southampton FC have been linked with several goalkeeper targets

Bazunu, in particular, has been an opinion-splitter for Saints throughout the majority of his spell at St Mary's since joining from Manchester City for £12m in 2022.

The Irishman and McCarthy have shipped 28 goals in 20 games between them thus far, and it would appear that the hierarchy remain in the market for a new shot-stopper despite the fact George Long is also on the club's books.

Daniel Peretz has now re-emerged as a loan target for the Saints amid initial interest in the Bayern Munich man's services in the summer, whilst the same can also be said for Sunderland goalkeeper, Anthony Patterson, who is also reportedly of interest to Leicester City.