Southampton faces a difficult summer in terms of contract negotiations, and manager Russell Martin has provided an update on two of his first-team players.
Southampton are competing for promotion at the top of the Championship. Despite trailing table-toppers Leeds United by nine points, the Saints can reduce the margin to three by winning their two games in hand.
With many dismissing Southampton’s automatic promotion chances, Russell Martin believes playing the underdog position benefits his team.
“We need to take care of ourselves. “The beautiful thing for us is that everyone has written us off,” Martin remarked during a press conference on Thursday.
“We have averaged two points a game and we have been completely written off which is really interesting and shows the quality of the other teams.”
The Saints will seek to make it three Championship wins in a row when they face Middlesbrough at home this afternoon, with players vying for contracts at St Mary’s.
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Three of Southampton’s first-team players’ contracts expire this summer, while numerous loan players will return to their parent clubs.
Martin wants to sign Flynn Downes on a permanent basis after the 25-year-old impressed while on loan at West Ham.
England’s under-21 centre back Taylor Harwood-Bellis is another player the club would like to recruit from Manchester City, and Martin is not opposed to the prospect of David Brooks coming permanently.
Goalkeeper Alex McCarthy will leave the club after eight years of service, while the fates of striker Che Adams and midfield dynamo Stuart Armstrong remain uncertain.
Adams reportedly gave a subtle clue about his future, and with Wolves leading the race for his services, the Saints risk losing their 12-goal scorer.
Armstrong has been one of the Championship’s top midfielders this season, and his contract is also ready to expire. Martin has now given an update on the players’ futures.
Russell Martin supplies contract update on Stuart Armstrong and Che Adams
When questioned about Armstrong and Adams’ futures, Martin said in his pre-match press conference, “They are both very comfortable.”
“There was a lot of debate between the beginning of the season and January. It was left in January that they were both content with what they were doing and contributing everything they had.
“As long as they do that, we will have no problems. I greatly respect them, and I believe they value the club’s position as well.
“As long as we understand each other, we’ll be alright. They have both been terrific for us, particularly recently.
“They have ten games to assist us go back into the Premier League. I’m sure their main aim is to return there and stay with us, or to have a lot of suitors.”
It appears that their future at St Mary’s is dependent on promotion to the top division, and Martin has acknowledged that if the Saints continue in the Championship, they risk losing Armstrong and Adams.
Southampton has ten games left to climb into the league’s top two, and with games against Ipswich, Leicester, and Leeds coming up, they have a good chance of making it to the Premier League.
If that happened, Armstrong and Adams would have to make a big decision about their futures.
