Since I last posted quite a lot has happened or is about to happen still at St. Mary’s. There’s the mooted arrival of possession guru Russell Martin from Swansea – which has been met with a very mixed reception amongst the fanbase.

We inevitably lost 3-1 away to Brighton who look every part a club that is smashing their head against the Premier League ceiling, which as we know as Saints fans will likely be to no avail and much to the detriment of Roberto De Zerbi’s finely attuned and youthful squad.

And there’s a potential little hint towards what kit we will be playing in next season after a revamp of the website.

So without further ado, here’s to my 2nd part of ‘Resetting Southampton’ – the next instalment of how the club might reinvigorate itself in the Championship: from the pitfalls of a gruelling 46-game marathon back to the Premier League to the future composition of the squad required to achieve the feat – I’ll try cover all the bases for your perusal.

Oh – and if you haven’t read my first instalment on ‘Resetting Southampton’ it can be found here. Part 1 is everything and inbetween on the financial implications of our relegation.

Let’s be honest – there’s not a great deal of that squad that we’d like to keep around. Worse still, the ones we likely to do want to keep will be the first out of the door. That’s the nature of the footballing beast.

Somehow through all of that we’ve got to build a competent squad that can launch a credible challenge for a return to the top division.

The Championship is a gruelling, 46-game mad scramble to the promised land and untold riches of the Premier League. This is the kind of league where you need players of requisite character.

The first question is – what exactly will we be left with of the playing staff come the close season? Let’s deal with the out of contract and loan players first.

First out of the door is Ainsley Maitland-Niles who will return to his parent club Arsenal after the season ends. Don’t celebrate yet, though – AMN is out of contract will Arsenal and he has not had an offer of a renewal. Worse still he has indicated a possible free transfer switch to St. Mary’s. Thanks but no thanks, Ainsley.

Another player whom most Saints’ fans are eager to see leave in Mohamed Elyounoussi and I am in total agreement. It’s not that he doesn’t try it’s just that he doesn’t contribute enough to warrant a place in squad, let alone in the first team.

For me, it just seems the Premier League is just too quick and too strong for him. Despite this, Moi has been a manager favourite for the best part of a season with all three of our manager incumbents. Bizarre.

Third string goalkeeper Willy Caballero will also likely depart. It’s a shame really having only seen him on a couple of occasions during his tenure.

Another victim of the strange selection policy this football club has had over the past 18 months, the much decorated and former Argentine number one could not get a look in ahead of Bazunu or McCarthy much to the bewilderment of many Saints fans.

At the risk of sounding crude, more Willy would have been nice this season.

And then there’s one of our own or more specifically, Swindon’s own Theo Walcott. Fair play to Theo, he’s been one of the small glimmers of light in a vacuous cave full of excrement this season. He’s had a go, he’s tried and in my humble and honest opinion, hasn’t looked past it as many feared at 34.

I think a lot of us all wrongly considered that Theo’s main attribute, his pace – would be on the wane. However he’s looked sharp and alert and in an insipid and goal-shy side has looked a genuine threat at times. Sadly at a rumoured £70,000 per week and a rigorous Championship season ahead I cannot think of a genuinely good reason to re-sign Theo however sentimental I feel towards him.

So that’s four out of the door almost guaranteed.

Next we’ll deal with the players that are likely to be coveted elsewhere.

Please bear in mind that this is all conjecture at this stage.

The first player on this would be James Ward-Prowse. I like JWP but I just get the feeling that he hasn’t always hit the heights of what talent he possesses.

Case in point was when Ralph first joined the club. His tutelage transformed JWP and at times, he looked the complete midfielder. There wasn’t many who could outwork him. His range of passing was finally being enabled with some impressive switch hits turning defence into attack with a single swipe of his right-foot.

He looked bulkier and stronger. He was no longer small and bullied. He became far more imposing and would have the capacity to grapple a game from his berth in midfield and truly impact it. This was the player we all expected JWP to become; a master of everything and a talisman.

Most notably of all the set-pieces expertise began to shine through. Whenever there was a freekick within shooting range the anticipation around the stadium would ramp up a notch. Whilst his corners and latterly his penalties have flattered to deceive recently, JWP’s unique wizadary from the dead ball was something we became too accustomed to and eventually too reliant upon.

This season was no exception.

Because we looked so flat and toothless as a team going forward the only thing we could hang our hat on was a bit of magic from our leader and most of the time he duly delivered.

Though this season for me his all-round game suffered. There was a brief moment of insightfulness from the Nathan Jones who began to use Ward-Prowse in a more advanced role citing the need to get him nearer the goal for more opportunities which made total sense.

Though when he departed and Selles was installed we never really saw him take up that position again. Instead he was back in the centre of midfield and looking a shadow of the former player Ralph had made him. No searching cross-field balls to turn defence into attack. No defence splitting through balls and no real combative or all-action displays that we had come to expect from JWP.

He had regressed into water carrier of sorts; sitting in front of the back four to receive the ball only then to recycle it back to someone else either backwards of sideways. This club had finally ground him down.

In some ways he was a hindrance to the team and in some ways we were a hindrance to him. We were no longer on a level with him.

I don’t begrudge JWP moving on and I really hope wherever he goes he’s an unmitigated success. I hope he finds his form again and becomes the player we all saw under early-Ralph. Wherever he moves to I would say to the fans of that club not to expect what the media makes him out to be. He’s a good player but don’t expect the spectacular with the exception of his freekicks.

Now they are spectacular.

On to Romeo Lavia. The most galling thing about his departure will be that we only had him for one season.

After an absolute shitshow of recruitment mishaps in the past five years, Lavia is perhaps the stand out transfer that has just worked. At just nineteen and with very few minutes as a Premier League player before he joined it is absolutely astounding to think how crucial he became to our chances our survival.

Within months of his arrival almost all of us were pinning our hopes on his fitness as a barometer to our chances of survival. That’s how good he has been.

And with the incoming Russell Martin preferring his holding midfielders to be able to receive the ball in tight spaces, turn and launch an attack through a pass or marauding run, it’s actually genuinely disappointing we’ll never likely see Lavia do this for him in our side next season.

Romeo Lavia however goes with the best wishes of all Southampton fans. I think we can all agree that he will have a stellar career at the very top of football and we are grateful to have had him for a brief spell. We just wish it could have been a little bit longer.

I’ve included Kyle Walker-Peters despite sounding on social media like that he might just stay saying that he couldn’t imagine himself in any other shirt than a Southampton one. I really do hope that is the case but for this exercise I’m marking him down as another of the players that leaves with our good graces.

It hasn’t been his best season by any stretch and his all too frequently been played out of position on left yet in spite of this has never let the club down.

Mohammed Salisu is a no brainer – he’s off. He’s not signing a new contract and was rumoured to be pretty disinterested in helping us out in the relegation scrap this season when it came to the crunch.

Salisu is another who has broken silence on social media though citing an ongoing injury and apologising to the fans. Reading between the lines it read almost as if there was some sort of vague commitment in there for next season but I wouldn’t hold out too much hope; I think he’s another one out the door through necessity with just one year left on his current deal remaining and no interest in signing another.

Armel Bella-Kotchap rightly came with a burgeoning reputation and for the first six months only served to improve upon it even further. Some exceptionally composed and impressive displays have recently been interrupted by a spate of injuries, most notably to his shoulder and his future remains unclear.

He might be one we could keep but with rumoured interest from some of the Bundesliga’s biggest clubs it might just be another case of what could have been like Romeo Lavia. Another one you would think will go right to the very top at some point, fitness permitting.

Ibrahima Diallo. All the rumours are the Ibrahima will be another player leaving the club in the close season and for the sake of his own career I hope he does. I am probably at odds with a lot of the Saints fans opinions on him but I honestly believe there is a top division footballer in there – we’ve just not been able to utilise him in the correct way.

And so onto the the possible transfers out.

If rumours are to believed then Russell Martin of Swansea City will be our next manager. With that seemingly our preference of coach and knowing how Martin likes to set his sides up, I see little reason as to why Paul Onuachu will stay.

Primarily bought for Nathan Jones in the ill-fated January window, Onuachu has struggled for games and when he has made a fleeting appearance or cameo has failed to grasp it, putting some underwhelming performances in alongside his peers who have mostly been equally atrocious.

I would imagine no-one will be stumping up the £18m we spent on him so I expect a 2023 redux of the Guido Carillo situation. Here we go again.

The most baffling transfer of them all has to be Mislav Orsic. From World Cup third place playoff goalscorer to Southampton B Team reserve. What has happened here? Expect him to return to Dinamo Zagreb on loan with Saints most likely absorbing some of his wages.

That’s probably £10m burned on one failed piece of business right there. Well done, recruitment team.

Next up comes a swathe of players with an unknown future at the club. Most notably of all are loanees Jack Stephens and Nathan Tella. Stephens had a brief period in the side and performed admirably but dropped out of the reckoning before the end of the season.

What I love about Jack is there’s a little bit of menace about him. Yes, like most centre backs in the world he can be prone to the odd gaffe but on the whole he’s grown in stature and confidence with a run of games at Bournemouth.

And we’ve seen that before at Saints under Ralph too. He needs game time. He also adds a bit of leadership and experience which could have been used this season – so why not use it next season in red and white stripes?

Tella on the other hand has been in scintillating form for Burnley scoring 17 times under a revitalised Vincent Kompany.

Personally I would love to keep both and it will likely be dependent on what their suitors are willing to go to in terms of transfer fee.

Then we’ve got Jan Bednarek, Duje Caleta-Car, Joe Aribo and Kamaldeen Sulemana. Only Bednarek was at the club before this summer and after a poor loan spell and some rather interesting comments on club sizes whilst at Villa he returned to St. Mary’s.

This was first met with trepidation for obvious reasons but the Polish international has forced his way back into the side and in most cases changed the opinion of him amongst the supporter base. Someone with his experience could be invaluable next season.

As for the summer arrivals of Caleta-Car and Aribo it is hard to say the same. Caleta-Car has looked OK but has been out of the side more than in it. Aribo on the hand has looked a shadow of the player he was at Rangers when given the opportunity. Neither will make or break our summer if they leave but I would prefer to keep Caleta-Car if we can.

Arriving to much fanfare but up until this Sunday not justifying his club record fee is Kamaldeen Sulemana.

Exciting and ranked as the fastest player at the World Cup, Kamaldeen finally justified the excitement amongst us fans during the 4-4 draw with Liverpool to close out the season.

One well taken goal and another which could have easily been the latest of late contenders for goal of the season finally realised the potential most of us saw in him. We’d seen flashes here and there but towards the end of the season Selles seemed reluctant to use him at times.

If we can keep ahold of him and Tella that would make for an exciting front three alongside Che Adams.

Phew – so to recap:

Released: Theo Walcott, Willy Caballero, Mohamed Elyounoussi.
Loan Return: Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
Likely Transfers Out: James Ward-Prowse, Romeo Lavia, Kyle Walker-Peters, Mohammed Salisu, Armel Bella-Kotchap, Ibrahima Diallo.
Possible Transfers Out: Paul Onuachu, Mislav Orsic.
Unknown Future: Jan Bednarek, Duje Caleta-Car, Joe Aribo, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Jack Stephens, Nathan Tella.

So who might stay?

Up first is the maligned Che Adams. Yes, he’s profligate not prolific – I get that. Yet for me Che has a bit of everything about his game and whilst he’s not hit double figures as often as we and he had like in the Premier League, it’s fair to say that he knows where the goal is in the division below.

At the time writing however it is rumoured that Nottingham Forest are keen. I hope it’s just paper talk.

The thought of him, Kamaldeen and Tella as a front three is actually quite exciting. One more year, Che?

Alongside Che or as an alternative we will also likely see Adam Armstrong. I’m pretty sure he’s frustrated a fair few many this year and I’ve no doubt he’s as frustrated as all of us too.

After some impressive goal hauls in the Championship, Armstrong was bought as a replacement for Danny Ings. Sadly for Adam that has proved an indomitable step.

Yet like Che he’s got all the tools in his armoury to be a success in the second tier. He’s also signalled he’d like to stay and for that and the above reasons I’d like him to stay too.

Rounding off the senior striking options is Sekou Mara. To say he’s a diamond in the rough is an understatement to say the least.

He’s given us a few hints as to his potential in the few opportunities he’s had yet Sekou does give off the distinct impression that he is very much still learning his trade. With another season and the right manager he might just compliment the blend of strikers we will have at our disposal.

I’d also expect Dom Ballard to be in and around the first team at times next season which will only serve him well as he makes his first tentative foray into mens professional football.

In midfield I would hope and pray that Charly Alcaraz sticks around to help us back up at the first time of asking.

Charly has shown incredible potential since he’s arrived. He’s not always started and not unlike Romeo Lavia has been withdrawn early in games seemingly to protect him or simply through fatigue.

He’s been all action; making key passes, lung busting runs from midfield through the channels and has chipped in with some vital goals. He’s not afraid of mixing it or a tackle either.

For someone who is just 20 years old and barely speaks the native tongue he’s shown incredible fortitude and resilience in a struggling side. Taking into account the rough and tumble rigours of the Championship,

He is one of the few players I hope and believe we will retain that could mould a successful season next year.

Returning from a successful loan spell in the Championship is one of our own Will Smallbone.

Ralph did give some game time in the first team until a season cruel season ending injury and after retuning last year he found himself on the periphery of things.

Though in the Potteries it appears Smallbone has relished in the ’10’ role since he switched to that role and from what I read on the Stoke forums he’s someone they’d like to have kept.

Given his impressive season-long experience at Stoke in the division we now find ourselves in I think it would be a good idea to have him around and see if he could bring that level of performance to St. Mary’s.

Judging by the recent press he’s been given he seems to be keen on imposing himself at his parent club.

Next up we’ll likely see a bit more of Sam Edozie next year. Clearly a very skilful footballer, it would be great to see more of him in the Championship – perhaps a stage more befitting last year when it was appeared that the Premier League was a bit too early for him and a lot of the younger footballers we brought in.

Hopefully one older head in the side I would hope to see is Stuart Armstrong. He had been struggling with an injury in the last campaign but as a seasoned Premier League performer his experience and guile could become a real asset amongst the younger players in the squad next year.

I just hope we can keep him fit.

Now, I’m unsure where exactly to place Moussa Djenepo positionally. He’s played in defence, midfield and attack. It’s almost a blessing as well as a curse to have someone adept at all those roles though sadly has yet to hold down any.

Djenepo burst onto the season in his debut season with two brilliantly taken goals at Sheffield United and Brighton. At one point I actually wondered did we have another Sadio Mane on our hands.

That hasn’t proven to be the case though I will counter that my lofty ambitions were unfair and way off the mark.

In his defence he has actually been one of the few players who did look like they we were really trying this season. Obviously to no avail but I always have time for someone who works hard and tries their best.

Hopefully given a good pre-season he can truly find a position he will revel in.

In defence we might have a bit of rebuilding to do with the anticipated departures of Salisu and KWP and the uncertainty surrounding so many of the others; Caleta-Car, Bella-Kotchap, Bednarek and Stephens.

We’ll undoubtedly still have Juan Larios as a left-back option and hopefully he can use this pre-season to get himself fit. He might need to bulk up too as he did appear a little lightweight for the Premier League.

Another player I hope and believe we’ll keep is marauding fullback Romain Perraud. Once again and like Jack Stephens, Perraud has a bit of the devil in him. He can mix it and doesn’t back down – a useful character trait for the Championship and chips in with a few goals too.

He could also be an option at set-pieces as he definitely knows how to strike a ball too.

Of course, the one player we are all excited to see return is Tino Livramento. He madea poignant return at the stadium he was injured at, The Amex a couple of weeks back after spending over 12 months on the sidelines.

Unlike Larios, Tino appears ready for the adult game in every facet. He will no doubt have his suitors but they will be unlikely to pounce this summer and will probably monitor his progress from afar.

If we can make a good fist of returning to the top league at the first time of asking then maybe we might stand a chance of seeing him in a Saints shirt a little while longer.

I’m not sure how James Bree fits in to the right-back equation and whether we are looking at him as a regular starter but he’s done little wrong in the few appearances he has made thus far.

Agonisingly for him the team who we have swapped places with in the Premier League, Luton Town. stunned football by securing promotion over Coventry.

Lastly and by no means least we have Lyanco. I think it’s fair to say we all love his attitude and spirit but question marks do remain over his temperament and consistency.

Speaking for myself I would like Lyanco to stay another season and I don’t see any indications that he is averse to that.

Maybe he would not be a first choice selection in the middle of defence but I can’t help but think he’s better suited in advance of the defence. He’s either fearless or oblivious to danger a lot of the time so taking some of the defensive responsibility away from him might make him thrive.

And so onto goalkeepers.

There was no bigger advocate of Alex McCarthy over Fraser Forster than me. I won’t go into the reasonings why on the blog but I just believed that McCarthy done most of the fundamentals of goalkeeping more efficiently. It looked natural not awkward.

These past few games have forced me to revise that assertion. I am now unsure as to whether we should go forward with McCarthy and with an exorbitant salary irrespective of the relegation wage decrease, I can’t help but think it would be better for both parties to move to pastures new.

Gavin Bazunu has shown some potential in what has been a very difficult season and most likely wouldn’t have had ten percent of the issues and spotlight had he been protected by Fonte and Alderweireld, Wanyama and Schneiderlin.

In fact, we would probably be somewhat impressed by his ability and confidence with the ball at his feet; none of which a skillset that any of previous two or three keepers had possessed.

Despite losing his place to McCarthy we cannot apportion all of the blame for what has gone on this season.

Whilst I can’t say for sure he’s worth persisting with as a number one but we and Bazunu should be both in this for the long haul, for better or worse.

One last player I know nothing about is Polish stopper Mateusz Lis. He went on loan to Troyes but has only played 7 games during his time there. No idea what to do about that but we must have bought him for a reason, right?

So in summary, who do I think might realistically stay?

Goalkeepers: Alex McCarthy, Gavin Bazunu, Mateusz Lis.
Defenders: Tino Livramento, James Bree, Lyanco, Jack Stephens, Duje Caleta-Car, Jan Bednarek, Juan Larios.
Midfielders: Charly Alcaraz, Stuart Armstrong, Samuel Edozie, Will Smallbone, Joe Aribo, Moussa Djenepo.
Attackers: Che Adams, Adam Armstrong, Nathan Tella, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Sekou Mara, Dom Ballard.

Looking at that there are some glaringly obvious areas where we need strengthening. I am writing this all in anticipation of Russell Martin being appointed as the new manager and with a heady concoction of assumptions of how we will play, who we might keep and who will actually suit the principles and technicalities of this tactic.

Aside from Lyanco. He can just be Lyanco and do Lyanco things.

Goalkeeper(s). Whoever is between the sticks come the 5th August could very well be dependent on whether Alex McCarthy is still at the club. If he does move then it could be between Bazunu or a new signing.

If that does prove to be the case then I would imagine we would look for competition for Gavin Bazunu. Three senior keepers going into the new season with two of them vying for the starting spot.

At centre back I have perhaps been a little optimistic. I do believe we could conceivably keep Jack Stephens, Jan Bednarek, Duje Caleta-Car and Lyanco.

I do believe it isn’t outside the realms of possibility we could keep all four though I would imagine we will start the season with any two of the four above still at the club. That would leave us requiring two new centre backs.

Of course with this summary there are so many mitigating factors so the above is my absolute best guess at how things will play out.

On the right side of the defence we have sufficient enough cover assuming Livramento can stay fit. He might even dovetail the position with James Bree fitness permitting.

On the left we have Romain Perraud and Juan Larios. I will assume that we will stick with both. Perraud was a more than capable performer in the Premier League so I am expecting him to be absolutely fine in the Championship. If he were to leave however that would leave us with just Larios which could be an issue.

In central midfield we are undeniably light, especially defensively. What we have remaining is a combination and variations of attacking midfielders with only Stuart Armstrong likely to be able to fulfil a deeper role within the side. I am sure Alcaraz and Smallbone could conceivably do a job in some circumstances but what we have remaining is not ideal.

In fact, I still see a Schneiderlin-Wanyama-Romeu sized hole in the middle of the park. Ideally we can find a couple of latter-day Dean Hammond and Jack Cork’s to bolster this area would not go amiss.

Assuming it will be Russell Martin who is appointed we will have to look for a player who can comfortably receive the ball from the defence or goalkeeper if we are to align to the principles of Martinball. At the moment, no-one is naturally springing to mind.

In the wide areas we are well stocked. In fact I would go as far to say that we are in an enviable position assuming we can keep ahold of the likes of Tella, Sulemana and to a lesser extent Edozie and Djenepo. Playing to their potential they should provide more than enough ammunition for our strikeforce.

Talking of which in attack we have two seasoned Championship success stories in Adam Armstrong and Che Adams. At this level they have been phenomenal and give the right service they could deliver once again.

We are perhaps one experienced striker short if one of Adams or Armstrong is unavailable so it would not be unwise to add someone else alongside them. Whilst we do have big Paul Onuachu as a siege tower option assuming he stays, I do believe we would benefit from having a blend of options in the final third.

Where is Jon Parkin, Darius Henderson or Steve Howard when you need them?

One thing I have noticed in previous seasons since the departure of Tadic has been a serious lack of a playmaker. Someone who could pick a pass or unlock a defence. Of course, Smallbone and Alcaraz can do that.

Though I would love to see us bring in a player like Callum O’Hare at Coventry. Maybe not him right now as he’s out until the latter parts of this year but someone of his ilk.

As always I am not too confident in our recruitment team to find the right players. The past few seasons since Koeman has been abysmal yet there has been no real accountability for these failures.

They’ll find us players who can play in that role but none of which can fulfil it. That’s the Southampton Way. I hope I’m wrong!

I cannot emphasise enough – we have to get this window right.

I hope they do as it is imperative we have a real go of promotion this coming season before the parachute payments start to dwindle and we feel the pinch.

It’s time for the data analysts and scouts at this football club to deliver my shopping list.

A goalkeeper to provide competition for the number one shirt, 2 Centre Backs capable of playing Martinball, 2 Defensive Midfielders capable of Martinball, 1 Championship level Dusan Tadic and 1 Steve Howard but not Steve Howard.

Dragan, please keep an eye on how they spend your money this close season.