£10m Southampton star set for transfer exit miss – He could feel like a new signing for Will Still | OneFootball

If he applies himself then Samuel Edozie could be like a new signing for Will Still and his Southampton side.

When they return from the September international break, Southampton will have finally been able to put to bed a difficult and disruptive summer transfer window and focus on the football.

The Saints were relegated from the Premier League last season and Will Still has been handed his first job in English football, with the task of being able to take them back to the top-flight at the first time.

In the meantime, Southampton have had to deal with wild transfer business in terms of incomings and outgoings, with plenty of deals completed before the deadline.

The start of their summer and squad transformation saw Adam Lallana retire, with Kyle Walker-Peters among those departing at the end of their contracts, alongside Joe Lumley.

Fringe players then began to filter out, with Jan Bednarek moving to Porto and Paul Onuachu transferring to Trabzonspor, whilst Kamaldeen Sulemana moved to Atalanta.

The likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Yukinari Sugawara and Armel Bella-Kotchap all earned loan moves to top-flights, with big money sales including Tyler Dibling and Mateus Fernandes to Everton and West Ham United, respectively.

The end of the window also saw a flurry of activity, both ins and outs, with a few first-teamers leaving on temporary deals, such as Ben Brereton Diaz, Charlie Taylor, James Bree and Will Smallbone.

Despite all of those departures, it was still the case that Southampton have kept hold of a few other players who either appeared destined to leave or were keen on doing so.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis, for example, had also been linked with a move to Porto, whilst Joe Aribo missed out on the first couple of squads this season as a result of transfer negotiations.

Another man who wasn’t involved early on was former Manchester City man Samuel Edozie, but he now looks set to stay put at St. Mary’s, and that could be a blessing for Southampton.

Samuel Edozie looks set to stay, and he could really benefit Southampton

Edozie, who joined Southampton from Manchester City for a fee believed to be in the region of £10 million in the summer of 2022, has not featured for Saints so far this season.

It had been reported that the Lewisham-born attacker was keen on forcing through a move to Belgian giants Club Brugge, but the Belgian transfer deadline has now passed, and the 22-year-old remains on the south coast.

Edozie spent last season out on loan at one of Club Brugge’s fiercest rivals, Anderlecht, where he scored three goals in 23 Belgian Jupiler Pro League appearances.

The former England youth international now looks set to have to stay at Southampton, and it could well be that he comes back in and has a major impact at the club, with Will Still’s style of football seemingly ideal for the winger.

Edozie has shown flashes of quality at Saints, having made over 60 appearances for the club and scoring six goals for them as they gained promotion from the Championship under Russell Martin, but consistency is required and, with him set to stay, finding that consistency back in the second-tier could benefit both parties.

Samuel Edozie would suit Will Still's style of football

Will Still, both at Reims and with Lens last season, has preferred to play a back three system, often changing between a 3-4-2-1 and a 3-5-2, but with the addition of Finn Azaz from Middlesbrough, it seems likely that they will seek to play the former.

In that instance, it is therefore key for Still to have some variation in the two that play behind the attacker so, with Azaz the more diminutive central player, competing with fellow new signing Leo Scienza from Heidenheim, it is likely the other spot will be a more natural winger, seeking to stretch the play and be able to run behind the striker.

Tom Fellows, who has joined from West Bromwich Albion, will be the leading candidate, but, beyond that, that profile of player doesn’t appear to be obvious at the moment, and so Edozie, should he get his head down, would surely become a major option for Still.

Still has preferred working with younger players and has helped to majorly develop a few key men for big sales in the past, such as Folarin Balogun at Reims, who earned a big money move to Monaco, and Neil El Aynaoui at Lens, who has since joined Roma this summer.

Those two players, being a box-to-box midfielder and a striker, highlight the impressive versatility of Still’s coaching, and therefore Edozie, if he does indeed want a move, would do well to apply himself at St. Mary’s.

Edozie has undoubted ability and showed it a fair bit at Anderlecht last season, and Southampton now being able to draft in a player that was wanted by Club Brugge could well be a major boost for their season as things become more settled.