Southampton are considering an audacious move for a ‘Big Six’ star who could resolve a position that will be giving Russell Martin a headache this summer.
The Southampton boss has welcomed his players back for pre-season and will be looking forward to the first friendly of the summer against National League side Eastleigh on Friday 19th July.
That game will set up a reunion with club legend Kelvin Davis, the double promotion-winning Southampton goalkeeper who now manages Eastleigh.
Davis kept goal for a decade between 2006 and 2016 and now Russell Martin is looking to resolve his goalkeeper situation for next season with a move for an England international stopper.
Southampton considering move for Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale
Goalkeeper is a crucial position in any side, but perhaps even more so for a team expecting to face a relegation battle.
Martin knows whoever is his goalkeeper in the Premier League next season is likely to have their work cut out against a higher calibre of opposition and it is therefore crucial they are up to the challenge.
That thought process has seemingly taken Southampton to considering an ambitious move for a top goalkeeper in the form of Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale; who has dropped to second choice behind David Raya.
That is according to The Sun, who printed on page 58 of their Sunday edition: ‘Southampton are weighing up a move for Aaron Ramsdale’.
The report goes on to say that the club ‘want a top-level keeper for their Premier League return and look set to step up interest in the Arsenal star when he returns from England Euros duty’.
The report claims that Arsenal ‘would love’ to keep Ramsdale but understand he may look to leave after being demoted to Raya’s back up and could sanction a sale for the £30 million fee they paid for the 26-year-old in 2022.
Alternatively, Arsenal are said to be open to allowing Ramsdale to leave on loan if no one matches that valuation.
What is Southampton’s current goalkeeper situation amid Ramsdale interest?
Last season, Gavin Bazunu was the undisputed number one under Martin.
With the Irishman’s ability with the ball at his feet, Martin was staunch in his backing of the youngster despite his tendency to let in soft goals at times.
However, Bazunu sustained an achilles injury in the warm-up of the 3-0 win over Preston in April and it was Alex McCarthy who came in at short notice for that game despite it being Joe Lumley who had been named in the match day squad.
McCarthy kept his place for the remainder of the campaign and was impressive in the play-offs which saw him rewarded with a new contract with his deal set to expire this summer.
Bazunu will be out well into the new season and McCarthy’s shortfalls in terms of distribution cannot be overlooked given how Martin wants his side to build from the back.
Mateuez Lis has returned from a successful season at Southampton’s sister club Goztepe, but is expected to spend next season at the Turkish club.
Therefore, a move for Ramsdale looks very attractive, with the goalkeeper described as a ‘phenomenon’ by Ian Wright during his first campaign at the Gunners.
The Saint may be reluctant to spend such a huge chunk of their summer budget on a goalkeeper, though, so perhaps a loan would be the best option before re-evaluating next summer.
