Southampton may have regrets over £26m-rated star tearing it up | OneFootball

Romulo Cruz was scoring bags of goals for Southampton's sister club Goztepe last season before his move to RB Leipzig this summer

Brazilian striker Romulo Cruz had a standout season in the Turkish top flight last campaign for Goztepe, the sister club of Southampton, who may regret not making a move for him sooner.

It was a miserable 2024/25 campaign for Southampton, who accumulated just 12 points in the Premier League last season as they were relegated in dead-last, narrowly beating Derby County's lowest-ever point record of 11.

Neither Russell Martin nor Ivan Juric were able to keep the Saints afloat, and upon their relegation, former Reims and Lens head coach Will Still was the person chosen to lead the club in the second tier for the upcoming campaign.

Still, despite being from England, he had never previously managed in the country at a professional level, instead making a name for himself in Belgium and France, with Southampton being his first senior job in his native country.

However, he lasted just 16 games in charge, winning only four, and Southampton have since appointed the club's Under-21 head coach, Tonda Eckert, as the permanent first-team head coach, after a successful spell as interim boss.

He has got the Saints competing in the upper echelons of the table, where many had expected them to be, whilst getting the best out of Championship hitman Adam Armstrong in the process.

However, things could have been a lot different had they acted sooner for their sister clubs' prolific striker, who is now tearing up the German Bundesliga.

Southampton's owners, Sport Republic, acquired a majority stake in the club in January 2022 and had their sights set on a multi-club ownership model, similar to that of the City Football Group and BlueCo, but on a much smaller scale.

Sport Republic also owns majority stakes in Turkish side Goztepe, French club Valenciennes, and Malian club Mali Coura, and were recently linked with a purchase of Bulgarian club Levski Sofia, but that has since fallen through.

Goztepe signed Brazilian striker Romulo Cruz from Athletico Paranaense in February 2024, with the club still in the second tier of Turkish football, and he would score five and assist three in 13 games to help the club achieve promotion.

Last season, whilst Southampton struggled for goals in the Premier League, with their top scorer being Paul Onuachu with four, Romulo hit 13 and assisted nine for Goztepe, which incited interest from across the continent.

The 23-year-old would join German juggernauts RB Leipzig for £21.5 million this summer, and has so far scored four and assisted three for the Red Bulls in 11 Bundesliga appearances, competing for game time with the likes of Yan Diomande, Christoph Baumgartner, Tidiam Gomis, Conrad Harder, and Timo Werner.

Indeed, with the interest in Romulo across the continent rife, Southampton's relegation meant they stood little chance of bringing the Brazilian to St Mary's this summer, though they will still hold frustrations that his initial European destination wasn't the English South Coast instead of Turkey.

Romulo Cruz would have been an incredible signing for Southampton in the EFL Championship

Ipswich Town broke the Championship transfer record this summer to bring in Sindre Walle Egeli from Danish outfit FC Nordsjaelland for £17.5 million this summer, with the fees being paid towards players in the Championship slowly increasing over the years.

It was always unlikely that Southampton would pay near the £21.5 million that Leipzig did for Romulo, however the regret still remains.

Had the Brazilian signed for the Saints initially, he could well be tearing up the Championship right now, and would likely be a cheat code in this league.

Despite the recent resurgence in form from Adam Armstrong, the likes of Ross Stewart, Damion Downs, Cameron Archer, and Kuryu Matsuki have all looked far from effective this campaign.

Matsuki, incidentally, signed from Goztepe this summer, so Southampton will have been well aware of Romulo, and will likely always regret not moving for him sooner, as his goals may well have kept Still in a job and have them fighting even higher up the league at this stage.