Why Sport Republic have made another Southampton FC mistake - it could backfire badly | OneFootball

Sport Republic have made an error by allowing striker Adam Armstrong to leave Southampton in favour of Wolves.

Sport Republic have overseen a largely unsuccessful time as Southampton owners since acquiring the Hampshire outfit in January 2022.

The Saints were relegated from the Premier League to the Championship following a disastrous 2022/23 season, which saw them earn just 25 points in the top flight.

Southampton then won promotion back to the Premier League thanks to their play-off triumph in 2024, but another woeful season in the top tier followed.

The St Mary's outfit appear incapable of achieving another top-flight return this time around, too, as their Championship campaign has been littered with inconsistency.

Adam Armstrong sale could be Sport Republic's biggest Southampton error yet

Sport Republic have made several errors at the Southampton ownership helm, including the appointment of former boss Ivan Juric as Russell Martin's replacement in December 2024.

Juric went on to oversee just one victory in 107 days in charge of the Saints, which was a 2-1 triumph at Ipswich Town, who were relegated from the Premier League alongside the South Coast club.

Southampton then had high hopes for their next permanent managerial appointment, Will Still, who moved to St Mary's last summer after gaining a strong reputation for his time in charge of French outfit Lens.

However, bringing Still to the Championship turned out to be a mistake, as he won just two games in 13 league attempts before being sacked in November.

Then, on transfer deadline day of the winter window, Southampton sold Adam Armstrong to Wolves, which could turn out to be Sport Republic's biggest error yet.

The 28-year-old is not leaving the Saints for a current Championship rival, but the Molineux outfit will surely be one of the Hampshire side's fellow promotion contenders next term.

Wolves are a whopping 18 points adrift of Premier League safety, with just 14 top-flight games remaining.

Meanwhile, the fact that Southampton remain in the Championship's bottom half with just 16 league fixtures left to play suggests that they will have to wait until next season to make a serious promotion bid.

By selling Armstrong to Wolves, the Saints have handed one of next term's promotion-chasing rivals a valuable asset who has excelled in the second tier in recent campaigns.

The 28-year-old notched 11 goals and four assists in 29 league appearances for Southampton this season, once again proving his attacking credentials.

He also finished second in the Championship golden boot race in the Saints' 2023/24 promotion-winning campaign, notching six fewer than former Blackburn Rovers talisman Sammie Szmodics.

The St Mary's faithful have been left angered by Armstrong's deadline day exit, with Football League World's Southampton fan pundit adding that supporters are in meltdown over the move.

Cyle Larin is unlikely to be an adequate Adam Armstrong replacement

Southampton supporters are rightly dismayed by Sport Republic's decision to cash in on Armstrong in a deal which was worth £7million, plus a further £2m in add-ons, as per Sky Sports.

To rub further salt into their wounds, fellow striker Cyle Larin, who was signed on loan by Tonda Eckert's side on Monday amid the 28-year-old's departure, boasts a significantly worse goalscoring record.

The 30-year-old scored just one goal in 15 appearances across all competitions while on loan with Dutch outfit Feyenoord from parent club Mallorca earlier this term.

He also notched just seven goals and two assists in 32 La Liga outings last term, adding further doubt about whether he can perform in the Championship.

Larin demonstrated potential when he scored 23 goals for Turkish giants Besiktas in the 2021/22 season, but he has never scored more than eight goals in a subsequent campaign.