What Southampton FC simply must do in January – It involves romantic West Ham deal | OneFootball

Will Still could depart Southampton soon but, regardless of his future, Saints should try and improve their midfield in January.

Following their humiliating relegation from the Premier League last season, it has been a very tough start to the campaign for Southampton with the Saints now struggling in the Championship, too.

The Saints have managed just two victories in their opening 12 matches of the second-tier campaign, having most recently succumbed to a 2-1 loss to fellow strugglers Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.

Former Stade de Reims and Lens boss Will Still was given the fairly coveted job at St Mary’s, but the English-Belgian coach is no coming under intense scrutiny and increasing pressure.

Still does have the mitigation of a chaotic summer transfer window which only saw Southampton really spring into life towards the end of August in terms of incomings.

Plenty of players who had begun pre-season with the south coast outfit eventually departed, with quite a few new signings joining once the seasons had begun and the preparations had already happened.

That said, Still has still majorly underperformed thus far and reasonable question marks remain, but one area of the squad that requires desperate improvement, regardless of whether or not he stays or goes, is the midfield.

Southampton must improve in midfield with or without Will Still

Throughout his still short managerial career, Will Still has switched between playing a back three or a 4-2-3-1; and that has again been the case at Southampton, moving to a 4-2-3-1 after beginning the season with a 3-4-3.

The issue for Still and this Saints squad is that his switch to a 4-2-3-1 has highlighted just how light Southampton are in midfield, both in terms of depth and quality.

The ideal scenario for a struggling side right now, seeking to find their feet under new management, would be to try and find some control through pragmatic means; and that would usually require packing the midfield.

That is something that Still has done, most notably in the past at Lens, whereby he would play a 3-5-2 with a packed midfield, rather than the more counter-attacking oriented system of a 3-4-3.

However, such is how short Southampton are in midfield on numbers and quality, even the 4-2-3-1, designed to have more presence in the middle, is unsuitable for this squad.

It has led to Still, especially after the late summer recruitment of a few key attackers of similar profiles, playing with a system that leaves a massive gap between the two in midfield and the four in attack.

Even then, the two in midfield has had to accommodate some players playing out of position; as was the case with former Brentford man Mads Roerslev partnering Shea Charles against Blackburn.

There isn’t enough depth for Still to be able to shift to a flat 4-3-3 or the 3-5-2 system that he has deployed at previous clubs – there isn’t even enough depth and quality to play the 4-2-3-1 system with suitable players.

Mateus Fernandes was one of those big name players sold on late in the window, whilst the sanctioning of Will Smallbone’s loan move to Millwall seemed bizarre at the time, and has only served to be even more questionable now, especially with Joe Aribo among those not involved due to off-field matters.

James Ward-Prowse could represent a romantic but practical signing for Southampton

As well as the fact Southampton simply need bodies in midfield, as well as some much-needed quality, Still, if he is to be there in January or not, would recognise that his midfield lacks intelligence and experience for the top end of the Championship.

One man that would represent a signing that not only checks those boxes but also provides the supporters with something romantic to cling on to would be James Ward-Prowse.

Admittedly, plenty of Saints fans have expressed their displeasure with Ward-Prowse departing for West Ham United in the summer of 2023, following Southampton’s Premier League relegation in the 2022/23 season, but a lot of it must surely be pantomime, and his return would be a boost both on and off the pitch.

It could be a deal that is financially tricky to do but, from a footballing perspective, it would be ideal for Southampton, whilst also presenting Ward-Prowse with the chance to reinvigorate his career after being jettisoned by Nuno Espirito Santo once again.