An “amazing” Southampton player who Russell Martin admires could now leave the club, according to an update from journalist Dean Jones.
Southampton’s January transfer business
Saints are back in Championship action this weekend after the international break, with Martin’s side making the trip to Huddersfield Town on Saturday afternoon. Southampton look nicely poised for a genuine promotion push between now and May, sitting fourth in the table currently and nine points behind Ipswich Town in the second automatic promotion spot.
The January transfer window will allow Martin the opportunity to boost his squad options, giving it that little bit of extra magic that could make all the difference come the end of the campaign, as the south coast club look to make it back into the Premier League at the first attempt.
Southampton have been linked with a a permanent move for Newcastle United winger Ryan Fraser, with the Scot on loan at St Mary’s currently, and West Brom midfielder Tom Fellows is another transfer target.
There is also a chance that current players will move on to pastures new, however, and it could be that a high-profile figure is on his way out of the exit door.
Che Adams tipped to leave Southampton
Speaking to Give Me Sport, Jones claimed that Che Adams could leave Southampton, with a January move to a Premier League club not out of the question.
“This has all the hallmarks of a player that needs a transfer now. Premier League clubs will be looking to see whether they could take a chance on him in the January transfer window.
“He just hasn’t seemed right since the summer window when there was a lot of talk around him and what would happen to him. It’s got to be difficult when you end up staying at the club you thought you were leaving, but he hasn’t done a great job of getting himself back on track there.
“So, I think it might be a case that he’s got to leave, and it might be a bit of a surprise that he ends up back in the Premier League, to be honest.”
While Adams’ statistics of only six Championship starts to date show he hasn’t necessarily been a guaranteed starter, losing him midway through the campaign would be a massive blow to their promotion hopes. The Scotland international has so much experience, with Adams scoring 25 goals in 124 Premier League appearances, and he is someone whose big-game mentality could come to the fore when the business end of the season arrives.
Martin himself is clearly a big admirer of the 27-year-old, calling him “amazing” back in August, and losing him would only make Southampton weaker, in terms of squad depth.
That being said, should Adams want to move on in January due to a lack of playing time, it could be hard to keep hold of him – if that does happen, Saints must bring in a tailor-made replacement who can fill the void left by him.
