3 players Southampton must target with £25m Shea Charles windfall | OneFootball

The Saints look set to receive a handy sum of cash for the Northern Irishman's services

There are currently plenty of unknowns at Southampton heading into the 2026/27 season, with the club also kickstarting their second successive Championship campaign somewhat on the backfoot compared to their divisional rivals.

Saints were relegated from the Premier League 12 months ago, and were heavily fancied to return to the top-flight at the first time of asking, yet only showed real signs of fulfilling such ambitions under Tonda Eckert.

The 33-year-old was a relative unknown at St Mary's at the time he replaced Will Still, but an initial run of just one defeat in all competitions from January 17th onwards looked to have earned the club a shot at play-off glory.

That was, of course, until Eckert admitted to multiple breaches of unauthorised observations of opposition training sessions, which saw Saints expelled from the play-off final and hit with a four-point deduction.

As such, it still remains to be seen if the German will remain in the dugout for next season due to an ongoing FA investigation, as well as whether Southampton can retain the services of some star players.

However, their chances of keeping hold of Shea Charles have been hindered by the fact Leeds United have put a fresh £25m bid on the table for the Northern Ireland international, who has earned plenty of plaudits in recent times.

The deep-lying midfielder, 22, scored six times in 38 games across all competitions last term, and is looking set for a first major Premier League stint in his career.

With that said, FLW have identified three players Southampton should target to reinvest some of that £25m fee, should it come in.

Manu Duah

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Another star performer who has been linked with an exit is Taylor Harwood-Bellis, meaning Saints will need to potentially plug a gap the one-time England international is expected to leave behind in the eyes of many.

With that in mind, Saints could, at worst, join their upcoming Championship rivals, West Ham United and Premier League new boys, Ipswich Town, in the race to sign San Diego FC's highly-rated centre-back, Manu Duah.

The Ghanaian certainly has a case for being involved in the Black Stars' current FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign, but was denied the chance of his maiden call-up ahead of the tournament by his current employers.

He has played 39 times for the MLS side since being selected in the division's SuperDraft, where he was described by head coach, Mikey Varas, as "a player with tremendous potential. A player who's already good but can improve a lot."

This season, Duah ranks extremely high when it comes to his pass completion rate, as well as the number of recovery tackles he has produced, showcasing that he has the current ability and future potential to feature for a side such as Saints in a high-level division who are comfortable building from defence up in their play.

Ethan Galbraith

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An ideal replacement for Charles himself could come in the form of his international colleague, Ethan Galbraith, who, after just one season with Swansea City, looks likely to be on the move.

The 25-year-old was signed by the South Wales outfit for just £1.5m last summer from Leyton Orient, where he had previously showcased the ability to feature at right-back, as well as his natural central midfield position.

A product of the Manchester United academy, Galbraith was one of the Championship's most underrated performers last term for the Swans, scoring three times in 39 appearances at the base of midfield.

However, amid reports of a contract stand-off, Football League World exclusively revealed that he is on the radar of West Ham United, who are rivalling interest from Wrexham for his signature, whilst Stoke City have now identified the Glengormley-born man as a prime summer target.

At the very worst, Galbraith should also be on Saints' radar, even if they are said to be closing in on a move for ex-Sunderland man, Dan Neil, on a free transfer.

Joe Gelhardt

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Meanwhile, with Charles potentially Elland Road-bound, Saints should potentially look to swoop for Joe Gelhardt, whose immediate future is uncertain in West Yorkshire, as well as elsewhere at this moment in time.

The former England youth international has rarely featured for the Whites under Daniel Farke, and it feels that it would take an extraordinary set of circumstances to unfold for those circumstances to change.

That is despite the fact that, since January 2025, the Liverpudlian has scored 20 times and posted six assists while on loan at Hull City, with 15 of those integral in the Tigers' play-off success under Sergej Jakirovic.

Naturally, there has been plenty of speculation as to whether the 24-year-old would make a permanent move to the MKM Stadium, with previous claims suggesting that Leeds are keen to cash in at the £3m mark amid interest from Rangers, while the forward's contract at the club expires next summer.

Hull, of course, have already been linked with several targets following their £215m-valued promotion, meaning Gelhardt could fall down the order of those, allowing promotion-chasing Championship sides to potentially plot their own moves.