Jordan James or Everton player can be Southampton's Shea Charles 2.0 | OneFootball

With Shea Charles joining Fulham, Jordan James and Harrison Armstrong can fill that void

The Shea Charles transfer saga has concluded with the Northern Irishman will be leaving Southampton this summer in favour of a move to Fulham.

The 22-year-old was the subject of early interest in the window from Leeds United, who had multiple bids rejected. The Saints held out for their £30 million valuation, and Alvaro Arbeloa's side have met it.

Charles will become the most expensive Northern Irish footballer of all time when the deal goes through, having played a major part in the strong end to 2026 under Tonda Eckert at St Mary's.

He netted the winning goal in the FA Cup quarter-final tie against Arsenal and in the play-off semi-final second leg against Middlesbrough, momentarily sending Southampton to Wembley, before they were expelled from the final after being found guilty of spying.

Southampton will look to replace Shea Charles with equal quality this summer

Action Images

Attention will shortly turn to finding a Charles replacement at St Mary's. Right now, the focus is still on offloading some dead weight and raising funds to ensure they remain within a more scaled-down budget compared to last season.

The £30 million they are set to receive from Fulham will go a long way to making that certain, and you'd expect that the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Cameron Archer and Ben Brereton Diaz will all command decent fees this summer, too.

Importantly, there should be an apt replacement for Charles in the Southampton squad. Saints journalist Alfie House stressed how important having back-ups for each pivot role was last season, so while Cameron Bragg may be ready to step up, having that depth will be vital.

That being said, here are two players they should consider to replace the Northern Irishman.

Jordan James

Action Images

It's looking like Jordan James' future lies in the Championship still, despite returning to Rennes at the end of his spell at Leicester City last season. If the Foxes had stayed up last season, they'd have had the option to sign him permanently.

The Welshman won the second tier's Young Player of the Season last term, scoring 11 and assisting four in a struggling Foxes side.

He was a good chance creator who played in numerous different central midfield roles, and would be a strong candidate to replace Charles in the middle of the park, given his upside and sell-on potential.

Understandably, there's a lot of interest in him, namely from fellow promotion contenders Middlesbrough, West Ham United, Burnley and Wolves. Boro are at a disadvantage compared to their peers due to wage demands, but Southampton, as the fourth parachute payment side in the second tier, may be able to afford them.

The only real question would surround the timing of the deal. Rennes want around £10 million for James, and with Southampton needing to sell before they can buy, the recently relegated Premier League trio would have a pivotal head start in the race.

Harrison Armstrong

Action Images

If Southampton are either priced out of a deal for James, or they're simply beaten to the punch by a fellow promotion contender, they should put out a feeler to see if they could bring Harrison Armstrong in on loan from Everton.

Alfie House did hint that loan opportunities could be looked at, and bringing in someone on loan would mean that someone like Bragg wouldn't have the pathways to becoming a regular starter in the future immediately blocked.

Everton have strengthened significantly in the engine room this summer, with Championship Player of the Season Hayden Hackney joining Christian Norgaard through the doors at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Those two, plus the likes of James Garner and Tim Iroegbunam, if the latter stays, would create a solid midfield core and could see Armstrong once again looking at a loan move away from Merseyside this summer.

The 19-year-old was one of the better all-round defensive midfielders in the division in the first half of last season while on loan at Preston North End, and his departure almost coincided with Paul Heckingbottom's side sliding down the table to an eventual bottom-half finish.

So, to help bridge the gap further to emerging into the Everton squad regularly, a move to a side expected to challenge at the top end of the Championship could be a useful move for the young midfielder.