2 Southampton players who could follow Damion Downs out of St Mary's by February 3rd | OneFootball

Damion Downs may not be the only exit from Southampton this January

Damion Downs has completed an early exit from Southampton, having only signed for the club from German outfit FC Koln in the summer, but the American forward may not be the only departure from St Mary's this January.

Having only signed for Southampton in the summer for a fee of €8 million (£6.8 million), the USA international has left the English South Coast after just six months to return to Germany, joining Hamburg on a loan deal until the end of the season.

The deal includes an option to buy for HSV, who beat fellow German outfit Werder Bremen to his signature, with Downs failing to settle into life in the EFL Championship.

With just 275 minutes in 11 Championship appearances, with one assist and without scoring, Downs' time at Southampton left a lot to be desired, and he would not make a single appearance for the club since late November.

With his exit confirmed, Southampton's January window is likely far from done, with the Saints in danger of slipping away from the play-off picture once again, with Tonda Eckert's honeymoon period as head coach seemingly having ended.

Incomings to the club are likely, though exits from the club can also not be ruled out, with a couple of players potentially heading for the exit door this winter before the window slams shut on February 2.

Cameron Archer

Cameron Archer first came to Championship prominence in his loan switch to Preston North End in January 2022, where he scored seven goals in 20 appearances on loan from Aston Villa.

He'd then shine for Middlesbrough in the second half of the 2022/23 season, scoring 11 and assisting six in 20 second-tier appearances, sealing an £18 million switch to then-Premier League side Sheffield United.

Though the Englishman would score just four times in the top flight as the Blades were relegated, leading Villa to trigger their buyback option on Archer, and subsequently selling him to Southampton for £15 million, where he currently finds himself.

This season, Archer has played just over 600 minutes of Championship football, starting just six league matches and scoring twice, behind both Adam Armstrong and Ross Stewart (when fit) in the pecking order.

Head coach Eckert left him out of the squad for their 3-2 defeat to Millwall in late November purely for 'selection choices', leading to speculation that he could be on the verge of an exit from the club sooner rather than later.

According to FootballInsider, Dutch giants PSV made a move to sign Archer during the summer, though a deal was never sanctioned, and with the 24-year-old's lack of game time evident, the Champions League outfit may return for him this winter, though given his form, it's probably unlikely.

Nevertheless, Archer is enduring a rough patch in his career at Southampton, and a fresh start for both parties may be the best solution.

Joe Aribo

In an unforeseen turn of events, Joe Aribo's career has completely stagnated this season at Southampton.

Since his switch from Rangers in the summer of 2022, which was worth an initial £6 million but could rise to £10 million, the Nigerian had been a regular for the previous three campaigns, playing 32 times in the Premier League just last season.

However, this campaign, Aribo completely fell out of favour under Will Still and failed to reinstate himself into the side under Eckert, playing just 111 minutes of league football this season in seven appearances.

According to estimates made by Capology, the midfielder collects an eye-watering £70k-per-week at Southampton, making him the club's highest earner, narrowly above Adam Armstrong.

His contract on the South Coast is due to expire at the end of the campaign, and at 29, he is unlikely to receive a similar wage elsewhere in his career, so a permanent move away is unlikely, though a loan move certainly isn't out of the question.

A return to former club Rangers, where he came a penalty shootout away from winning the Europa League with the Scottish outfit, has been speculated, with head coach Eckert telling the Daily Echo: "In the end, I think every player needs to be looked at individually. There is a story for every player that started way before I came in."

"For every single one, we need to decide on what is best for the club, which always comes first, and what is best for the player, the group, and come to a decision for all three."

Indeed, whether Rangers will make a move to bring Aribo back to Ibrox this January remains to be seen, but spending the rest of the season taking up a huge chunk of wages on the bench is not ideal for him or Southampton, and a solution must be found this winter.