Southampton must strike €8m deal for rare Sport Republic transfer success | OneFootball

Daniel Peretz has been dominant in goal since making a loan switch from Bayern Munich to Southampton in January

Southampton's unbeaten run stretched to 10 games in the Championship, and 12 in all competitions, when they became just the second side to beat Coventry City at the CBS Arena in league action this season.

It was an incredible performance from Tonda Eckert's side, and a needed three points too, as it ensured that they remained three points adrift of the top six following Wrexham's win on Friday night in the Welsh derby against Swansea City.

Flynn Downes and Kuryu Matsuki will receive a lot of the plaudits for their part in the victory, with the goals that they scored, but equally, Daniel Peretz was once again a standout performer in the Southampton goal, making numerous saves to help keep the side level, and then ahead, at times.

It's safe to say that Sport Republic haven't got everything right in terms of bringing in the right players, but with Peretz, they have someone who can make that transition to the Premier League with relative ease.

And with a reported €8 million buy clause that Southampton can activate, according to German outlets, it'd be a no-brainer for the Saints to make the Israeli shot-stopper a more permanent part of the furniture at St Mary's.

Daniel Peretz had yet another unbelievable showing against Coventry City

A trip to the CBS Arena is daunting at the best of times, but with Coventry seemingly back to the peak of their powers and on a six-game winning run, it seemed even Southampton's incredible form of late wouldn't have been enough to stop Frank Lampard's side.

The Sky Blues had numerous big chances, and on another day, could have scored three or four if not for the incredible shot-stopping abilities of Peretz.

The pick of the bunch comes late in the first half to deny Liam Kitching and keep the score at 0-0, but there are big saves to stop a free header from Haji Wright at 1-0, and a close-range effort from Brandon Thomas-Asante in the dying seconds to keep the score at 2-1.

In the end, Peretz would notch up five saves, preventing 1.07 expected goals, and, ultimately, preserving three points.

It says a lot that Coventry were only able to breach his goal from a penalty kick, and if not for that, it would have been another hard-earned clean sheet, which would have marked his fifth in 11 Championship games.

Southampton must secure a permanent €8 million Daniel Peretz deal

Sport Republic's dealings thus far have seen few real stars come through the door.

This was amplified by the shocking stat that emerged after centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis scored against Sheffield Wednesday, in which he was the first signing out of the 45 under the current ownership to score 10 goals for the club.

There's been a failure to bring in the players needed to keep the Saints in the top flight, and for the first few months of this season, it seemed that the millions spent to engineer an immediate return would go to waste, too.

Therefore, a signing to come in and immediately hit the ground running has been a bit of a rarity in the four years since Sport Republic took over, but Peretz has done just that, and the higher-ups at St Mary's need to act quickly to ensure that he sticks around for the long-term.

There are reports in Germany that parent club Bayern Munich are open to letting the 25-year-old depart this summer, and, having enjoyed a successful stint thus far, paired with the fact that the Saints reportedly have an €8 million buy option that can be triggered, it seems a no-brainer for his future to remain down on the South Coast.

In his short time in the Championship, the Israeli international ranks inside the top 10% of goalkeepers in the division for goals conceded per game and goals prevented per game, and his presence has coincided with this unbeaten run, which sees Tonda Eckert's side banging on the door of the top six.

Regardless of whether they finish inside the play-offs or not, they must see the permanent signing of Peretz as a priority.