£20k-a-week star to leave Southampton FC - It makes sense | OneFootball

Gavin Bazunu's time at St Mary's has been extremely mixed as he now looks set to depart

With Tonda Eckert looking to reshape his Southampton squad across a maiden transfer window as the senior boss at St Mary's, it isn't the greatest of surprises that the German has already attempted to address 'problem positions' in his squad.

Saints have found it tough going in the Championship so far under Eckert and his predecessor, Will Still, with the former Under-21s boss also hoping his side can return to form in the second tier from next weekend onwards after recording a first success of 2026 against Doncaster Rovers in the FA Cup.

In the Championship table, the Hampshire outfit are also the worst-performing side out of the three which were relegated from the Premier League last term. However, it must be said that the gap between themselves and the play-offs isn't entirely insurmountable, as only eight points separate them in 15th and Watford in sixth, with 19 games of the league campaign remaining.

Last summer, Southampton saw a mass exodus of high-profile players and top earners conducted, whilst the club looked to bring in fresh talent in order to right the wrongs of a measly 12-point accumulation in the Premier League last campaign.

It must be said that whilst plenty of change has occurred at St. Mary's, a handful of the players still on Eckert's books have been part of two relegations from the top flight, as well as the side which defeated Leeds United in the play-off final back in May 2024.

Although injury stopped him from featuring in North London, Gavin Bazunu certainly falls into this category.

However, as has been the case throughout his three-and-a-half years with Saints, the Republic of Ireland international has constantly divided opinion this season, which is why a fresh start for all parties appears to be for the best, as Daniel Peretz's arrival from Bayern Munich has paved the way for the 23-year-old to join Stoke City on a temporary basis, with a view to his long-term future potentially being at the Bet365 Stadium.

Having spent nearly four years on the books of Manchester City after signing from Shamrock Rovers in 2018, a move to Southampton in the summer of 2022 was the highest step-up in class which the 23-year-old had to make in his senior career.

Despite earning praise for his loan stints with Rochdale and Saints' bitter rivals, Portsmouth, the £12m price-tag which Saints parted with has often weighed heavily on the 22-time Ireland international's shoulders, as he struggled during the club's relegation season of 2022/23.

However, despite keeping just one clean sheet in his first 10 second tier outings in 2023/24, Bazunu was a mainstay in Russell Martin's promotion-winning team, although criticism still came his way due to a handful of errors.

It was perhaps no surprise that the acquisition of Aaron Ramsdale in the summer of 2024 and his own long-term injury saw the shot-stopper's gametime reduced. However, a luckless period was summed up when, after returning from said achilles issue, Bazunu also failed to make an impression on loan at Standard Liege before, again, suffering injury misfortune.

He was handed a clean slate by Still at the beginning of the season. However, it soon became apparent that Saints' goalkeeping and defensive department were severely lacking in confidence, meaning Bazunu was dropped for the final seven games of Still's reign, before enduring another mixed spell between the sticks that is likely to have ended in a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on January 4th.

A total of just 19 shutouts in 97 competitive outings for Saints sums up an extremely frustrating period for the once highly-rated goalkeeper, meaning it makes sense that a move to the Potteries following Peretz's debut could also help them shift an ESTIMATED £20,000 per week off Sport Republic's payroll in the long run.

Gavin Bazunu will hope for better fortunes at Stoke City amid Viktor Johansson injury

Stoke, of course, boast one of the division's finest shot-stoppers in Viktor Johansson. However, with the Swede currently sidelined with a shoulder issue, it isn't a surprise that Mark Robins is looking for further depth beyond Tommy Simkin and Jack Bonham.

Indeed, it has been widely reported that Bazunu is in talks with the Potters over an initial loan deal which is set to include an £8m option-to-buy, which also allows the vastly-experienced Robins to cast an eye on whether the 23-year-old's confidence is to be restored over time before being forced into a decision that benefits nobody.

Regardless, though, it is hard to envisage a long-term future at St. Mary's for Bazunu, who can firmly put himself in the shop window with this particular agreement, as his contract with Saints is set to expire in June 2027.