Russell Martin recruited two players from the Premier League team, Bournemouth, to his roster.
Two players who transferred to St. Mary’s were midfielder Joe Rothwell and winger David Brooks.
However, given that they signed loan agreements that would only last until the end of the season, there may be concerns regarding their prospects beyond the summer.
Still, Rothwell has provided some indication of his potential future at Southampton.
Summertime hint from Joe Rothwell
The midfield player was recently questioned about whether he would continue to play for St. Mary’s beyond this season.
That sounds like a step Rothwell would be open to taking. In response, he stated he would be “massively open to” moving to Southampton.
He stated that if it turns out that his time at Bournemouth is up, that would be a possibility for him.
It is a position Southampton could want to make sure they are prepared to take advantage of given the conditions.
Southampton should be open to permanent Joe Rothwell move
Admittedly, Rothwell has not exactly established himself as a regular in the starting lineup since his move to St Mary’s.
He has however, made some big impacts for the club regardless of that. On not one but two occasions, he has come off the bench to score match-winning braces.
Those have contributed massively to helping to keep Southampton in the race for promotion.
Indeed, according to SofaScore, Rothwell has an Expected Goals tally of just 1.52 while playing for the Saints.
That shows just how good he can be, at coming up with something out of very little for this team.
Having a player with the ability to do that could be vital for Southampton next season, whatever division they are in.
With a 92% pass success rate, the midfielder has also wasted no time linking up well with his teammates, so there are other reasons he may be useful to have around at St Mary’s too.
The fact he does seem to have settled reasonably well here, may also provide some hope he could make a better impact in the top-flight for Southampton, than he did for Bournemouth.
Meanwhile, given he started just three league games before being allowed out on loan in the summer, may suggest he does not have much of a future with the Cherries.
It is also worth noting that with Tyler Adams now back in the squad after a season-long injury, it could be even harder for Rothwell to force his way into Andoni Iraola’s side if he returns there in the summer.
The former Leeds United man was excellent in the top-flight last season, and may therefore be preferred to Rothwell as an option in the centre of the park.
That in turn, may mean that Bournemouth are willing to let Rothwell go again in the summer. Based on the midfielder’s comments here, Southampton may well want to be ready to take advantage of that.
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