Aaron Ramsdale’s Southampton exit in doubt? Newcastle United eyeing alternative | OneFootball

The agreement involving the shot-stopper between both clubs has now been jeopardised

Southampton have enjoyed a brilliant few months under Tonda Eckert, with the team firmly in the hunt to win promotion via the play-offs this season.

Obviously, whether they’re successful or not will have a massive impact on their summer plans, and one player facing an uncertain future is Aaron Ramsdale.

The stopper joined Saints in the summer of 2024 when they were a Premier League club, and whilst his first campaign with the club ended in relegation, Ramsdale was one of few to emerge with credit.

That, combined with his pedigree, meant it always seemed unlikely Ramsdale would stick around in the Championship, and that proved to be the case, as the 27-year-old joined Newcastle on an initial loan deal.

Newcastle United eyeing up potential alternatives to Aaron Ramsdale

As part of the agreement, Newcastle have the option to buy Ramsdale on a permanent basis, although it’s unclear right now whether they will take that up.

After a slow start, where he was backup to Nick Pope, Ramsdale has been the number one recently, in both the Premier League and the Champions League, and he was back in the England squad for their recent friendlies.

Despite that, it appears the Magpies are leaning against keeping Ramsdale for the long-term, as The i Paper has revealed that Lens keeper Robin Risser is emerging as a target for the north-east outfit.

Interestingly, they add that the French keeper would be brought in to compete with Pope, which indicates a decision has been made to not keep Ramsdale.

But, you would not expect any official communication to come until the end of the season, and Ramsdale will be focused on ensuring he ends the campaign on a high in a bid to potentially change their mind.

Southampton face crucial goalkeeping decisions ahead of summer window

If Ramsdale does return to Southampton in the summer, there’s no guarantee that he will stay at St. Mary’s Stadium, even though his contract runs until 2028.

Firstly, as was the case previously, it’s hard to imagine that Ramsdale will want to be playing in the Championship, so failure to go up would mean a sale elsewhere seems likely.

Given his contract situation, you wouldn’t imagine Saints would entertain another loan, as he could potentially return to the club in the summer of 2027 with just 12 months on his deal, so a permanent switch would be the priority.

Yet, even if Southampton do win promotion, there’s no guarantee they would want to start next season with Ramsdale as their number one, as Daniel Peretz has been outstanding since he joined in January.

So, they will surely be pushing to sign the keeper on a long-term basis from Bayern Munich, and they do have an option to do just that, but it may not be straightforward if he maintains this level of performances, as other clubs will surely take note.

Ultimately, it seems Southampton are going to have some huge calls to make on their goalkeepers this summer, but they will have to wait until they know what division they will be playing in before they start moving the pieces around, with this development suggesting Ramsdale will be part of that if he does return to the club.