Southampton will never regret snubbing Ipswich Town transfer advances - he fired them to the Premier League | OneFootball

Southampton's decision to keep Adam Armstrong in 2023 amid Ipswich Town's interest proved to be an inspired choice

Southampton received interest from Ipswich Town in the summer of 2023 for Adam Armstrong, but will be delighted with the results of their decision to hold onto the forward as it led them to the Premier League.

It was reported at the time that the Tractor Boys - despite just being promoted from League One - were plotting an ambitious raid of the Saints to land the Geordie striker, and were prepared to go as high as £8 million for his services, as per Alan Nixon.

The Saints were themselves preparing for life back in the Championship as well, but it was because they had suffered relegation from the Premier League with a 20th place finish.

The Hampshire outfit’s time in the division came to an end after 10 years, and the state of the first team squad was in flux as a result.

Players like Romeo Lavia, Tino Livramento, James Ward-Prowse and Mohammed Salisu were among the ones to depart for big money fees, with a big turnover rate within the squad giving new manager Russell Martin plenty to ponder in preparation for the new season, but Armstrong was not one of them.

Adam Armstrong was wanted by Ipswich Town, but Southampton held firm

Armstrong had a disappointing season with Southampton in the 2022-23 Premier League as the Saints suffered relegation, and the forward ended up scoring just twice from 30 appearances, which led to speculation over his long-term future on the south coast.

Kieran McKenna was reportedly keen to bring the forward to Portman Road after the Tractor Boys earned automatic promotion from League One, and whilst it was never reported that an official bid was put in, it was claimed that the Suffolk side would have gone as high as £8 million off the back of his barren campaign in the top flight.

However, new Russell Martin manager opted to keep Armstrong, and the decision paid off spectacularly for the club, with the player enjoying his most prolific campaign since joining the Saints - perhaps owing to the drop in quality of the division.

Alternating between playing through the middle and out wide, Armstrong notched 21 goals and also bagged 13 assists from 46 appearances in the regular season, but Southampton only came fourth in the Championship standings, and they weren't the play-off favourites as Leeds United went into it as the ones expected by many to come out on top.

Three goals followed for Armstrong in the play-offs as Southampton got past West Brom, and he then struck the winner in their 1-0 victory over Leeds United in the final at Wembley.

Armstrong was crucial to Southampton gaining an immediate return to the top flight, and the decision by Russell Martin to keep the ex-Newcastle man at the club proved to be a very good one.

The forward proved a versatile asset under Martin, playing in a number of positions as well as showing his prowess in front of goal and as a creator for others.

He not only scored the most goals, but also had more assists than anyone else in the side, six more than second-best Stuart Armstrong, showing that he wasn't just a clinical finisher - he could provide too.

Southampton's Adam Armstrong decision was an inspired one - yet Ipswich Town still managed success themselves

While Armstrong was key to their promotion, the forward was unable to carry that form into the club’s Premier League return.

The 28-year-old scored twice from 20 appearances in the first half of the campaign, but the arrival of Ivan Juric as manager led to his January departure on loan to West Brom.

It was a similar story for Armstrong, who had scored 28 goals for Blackburn Rovers in the Championship during the 2020/21 season, which is what led to his big-money move to Southampton in the first place.

As for Ipswich, despite being snubbed by Southampton over their Armstrong interest, they didn't need him when it was all said and done.

Ipswich outfinished the Saints by ending the season in second position, which was a remarkable achievement from Kieran McKenna's squad, and they didn't actually splash out on a new attacker around the time of the links to Armstrong - George Hirst had already arrived from Leicester City but Dane Scarlett was added on loan, and it was only in January when the arrivals of Kieffer Moore and Ali Al-Hamadi bolstered the ranks at Portman Road up-front.