Brutal Southampton transfer decision from Tonda Eckert could secure Premier League return | OneFootball

Southampton sanctioned the loan exit of £12m goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu in January amid poor run of form

Southampton's dreams of a Premier League return have been reignited under the guidance of Tonda Eckert, with the Saints looking well-placed for a spot in the top six this season despite a tough start to the campaign.

It has been well and truly a season of two halves at St Mary's, with Southampton finding themselves in the top six places despite just two league wins in their opening 13 games.

Former Reims and Lens boss Will Still was the orchestrator of such a run, with the Englishman taking his first professional top job in his native country with the Saints over the summer.

Having splashed out upwards of £50 million on numerous incomings, such as Finn Azaz, Caspar Jander, Leo Scienza, and Tom Fellows, expectations were understandably high on the South Coast, and after Still failed to get a tune out of the Southampton side, he was replaced by the club's Under-21's boss Tonda Eckert.

Eckert has transformed the Saints since his appointment, sticking with a 4-2-3-1 shape and making a few key moves in the January market, with one in particular changing the course of their fortunes at the back.

Southampton loaned out Gavin Bazunu to Stoke City after a poor run of form between the sticks

As the January window rolled around, it became clear that an upgrade in goal was much required at Southampton.

Irish international Gavin Bazunu joined the Saints in the summer of 2022 for £12 million from Manchester City and has had a difficult time in that period, retaining his place as the club's number one for his first two seasons at St Mary's but spending the 2024/25 campaign on loan in Belgium with Standard Liege, where he struggled for game time.

Coming into this year, Still made him number one once again, but after just six games, he would lose his place to the more experienced Alex McCarthy, until the Englishman's dismissal.

Eckert brought him back into the starting 11, and he would play every single minute of his next 13 games for Southampton, though he would come under fire for his performances, with his final game for the club being a 4-0 loss away to Middlesbrough.

According to FotMob, Bazunu has let in 6.6 more goals than expected across the season, putting him above only Sheffield United's Michael Cooper and West Brom's Josh Griffiths in that statistic among keepers in the Championship this year.

With Stoke City sustaining an injury to Viktor Johansson and Jack Bonham leaving for Bolton Wanderers, a new pair of gloves was needed between the sticks in the Potteries, as Bazunu made the switch to Staffordshire until the end of the season, with an option to buy.

However, after just one game, a 0-0 draw to Queens Park Rangers, the 24-year-old sustained a thigh injury in training, keeping him out of action for the next 12 games to date, as Southampton seemed to have made the right call to part ways, with their replacement doing a fine job.

Daniel Peretz has been superb since his loan switch to Southampton, and could help fire them back to the Premier League

As Bazunu left for Stoke, Southampton moved to bring in Bayern Munich shot-stopper Daniel Peretz on loan for the remainder of the season, a move which had raised eyebrows.

Peretz had spent the first half of the season on loan with fellow German outfit Hamburg, but found himself as the second choice behind Daniel Fernandes, and returned to Bavaria in January.

Since joining Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023 from Maccabi Tel Aviv, the 25-year-old has made just seven senior appearances for the Bundesliga champions, having not played regular senior minutes since he was back in his native Israel.

Though, since making the move to the English South Coast, Peretz has barely put a foot, or a glove, wrong, as according to FotMob, the keeper has prevented 4.33 goals more than expected, putting him right up there among statistically the best in the league despite only being here since January.

Dazzling displays against Fulham in the FA Cup and Norwich City in the league have rightfully earned him plaudits and made Saints fans forget all about Bazunu.

With Southampton well within play-off contention, Eckert's decision to replace Bazunu with Peretz has so far proven to be an excellent one, with the Saints having both eyes on a return to the top flight.