Southampton are on the lookout for new recruits as they prepare to return to the Premier League.
The Saints maintained a strong financial footing following their drop to the Championship and having bounced back to the top-flight immediately, they’ll be able to recruit well this summer.
Rumours have been rife over potential additions and one man linked with a move back to St. Mary’s is midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is now on the books with Turkish outfit Besiktas.
However, those claims have now been rebuffed.
Writing on X, reporter Alex Crook states that Southampton will not be bringing the academy graduate back to the club ahead of their Premier League return.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is contracted to Besiktas until 2026. He played 30 times in his first season for the club, hitting some decent form before a thigh injury cast him to the sidelines.
A popular return
Oxlade-Chamberlain is a product of the highly regarded Southampton youth academy and made quite the name for himself as he broke through at St. Mary’s.
He managed 10 goals and nine assists in 43 games for the Saints, playing an influential role as they won promotion from League One to the Championship in the 2010/11 season.
As such, a move to bring him back to the club certainly would have been a welcome one. He’s embarked on quite the career since then, with injuries perhaps preventing him from the heights some expected of him, but Oxlade-Chamberlain has been a thoroughly successful player regardless.
The 30-year-old played 198 times for Arsenal and made 146 appearances for Liverpool. Oxlade-Chamberlain has won the Premier League, Champions League and the EFL Cup once while lifting the FA Cup four times. He also has 35 England caps to his name.
Looking elsewhere
With Oxlade-Chamberlain not returning, Southampton will be turning their focus elsewhere.
Russell Martin will be putting faith in many of his promotion-winning group given that many have experience in the Premier League, but new faces will be sought as they bid to affirm their top-tier spot once again.
The Saints had been top-flight mainstays before their drop and will be keen to achieve that status again.
A fruitful summer transfer window will be key in their bid to do so with avoiding relegation sure to be their priority looking to the new campaign.
