Recently-promoted Southampton are ready to revive last summer’s interest in right-back Max Aarons in this transfer window, after missing out on him at the start of a 23/24 campaign that resulted in their promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
The Saints want to sign the right-back after returning to England’s top 20, according to BBC Sport, but Aarons is also being tracked by a number of other top-flight clubs.
Aarons was nearing a move to St Mary’s last summer, before instead moving to Bournemouth for Premier League football, which Southampton could not yet offer him after that season’s relegation from the top flight.
Southampton, along with Leeds United, agreed a fee with Norwich City – only for the Cherries to make a last-gasp move to snatch the former England Under-21 international in a £12m deal. But, after winning the Championship play-offs by beating Leeds 1-0 at Wembley last month, boss Russell Martin wants to bolster his squad with the 24-year-old.
Southampton Looking for Reinforcements
They missed out on Aarons last summer after Bournemouth stole him away
After a persistent hamstring injury blighted his debut campaign at Bournemouth, the former Norwich City defender was limited to just 13 league starts from a total haul of 23 appearances during the 23/24 campaign.
Before his arrival at the Vitality Stadium, however, the Englishman had made over 200 appearances for boyhood club Norwich, with then manager Daniel Farke labelling him as an “outstanding” player.
He helped them to two EFL Championship titles as well as being named in the Championship Team of the Season twice, the PFA Team of the Year twice, and winning the EFL Young Player of the Year award in the 2018/19 season.
Flynn Downes was one of Southampton’s key performers as they secured a return to the Premier League at the first time of asking
Such success with Norwich, mixed with a failure to get the club back into the Premier League for the third time in his young career in 22/23, saw many clubs start to circle him. One such club was Southampton, who had recently been relegated from the top flight and appointed Russell Martin as their new head coach. He had played as Norwich captain whilst Aarons was still in the club’s academy.
An unfortunate first season for a successful Cherries side has seen Southampton and Martin refresh their interest after their instant return to the Premier League, seeking to finalise the deal they had hoped to complete a year prior, before Bournemouth swooped in for his signature.
| Max Aarons 23/24 | |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 23 |
| Starts | 13 |
| Minutes p/g | 62 |
| Avg. rating | 6.5 |
Southampton Transfer news
Several players have been linked with the club
Following on from their Wembley success over Leeds United, which confirmed their instant return to the Premier League after a year away, whilst also scuppering Leeds’ chance to do the exact same, the need has revealed itself for The Saints to find reinforcements for their squad, so as to avoid another disappointment in the top flight.
Striker Che Adams is part of those plans, with the Scotland international out of contract this summer. Southampton are hoping to tie the forward down with a new deal, amidst interest from the likes of Nottingham Forest and Wolves in the 27-year-old, with Forest reportedly leading the race.
Elsewhere, former loanee Ryan Fraser looks set to make his temporary stay on the coast a permanent one, after a solid season in the Championship with Southampton providing reason for the club to bring the 30-year-old Scotsman to the club for good.
Finally, in the back-line, The Saints are, according to The Athletic, circling the name of Dutch Liverpool defender (no, Van Dijk isn’t coming back) Sepp van den Berg, who is rumored to have a £20m price-tag on his head to prize him away from Anfield this summer, with successful loans at Mainz and Preston North End to his name. Southampton also, as per The Telegraph, reportedly hold interest in Sunderland winger Jack Clarke, with the 23-year-old valued at around £13m.
