Southampton have been handed a major transfer boost in pursuit of one of their key summer targets.
Southampton will have to be hard at work in this summer’s transfer window if they’re to beat the drop in the Premier League next season.
Russell Martin’s side are returning at the first time of asking after beating Leeds United 1-0 in the Championship play-off final last month.
Already there’s a growing list of names being linked with summer moves to St Mary’s, with Martin seemingly wasting no time in readying his side for a tough Premier League campaign.
There’s also a lot of players potentially leaving the club this summer; Che Adams looks poised for a Premier League switch, whilst Kyle Walker-Peters is a target for Tottenham Hotspur.
Elsewhere, Southampton have been keen on a return for loan star Flynn Downes, who featured 36 times in the Championship last season with two goals and three assists to his name.
West Ham ‘open to sale’ of Southampton transfer target Flynn Downes
Martin previously had Downes with him at Swansea City. It was with the Swans where Downes shone and earned himself a Premier League move to West Ham in 2022.
But he couldn’t hold down a spot in the first-team, and Downes would be allowed out on loan last summer.
There’s been reports that Southampton want Downes on a permanent deal for some time now, and an emerging report from GIVEMESPORT has revealed that the Hammers are willing to let him go.
They say that West Ham are ‘open to sale’ of Downes this summer and that West Ham are ‘willing to negotiate’ with Southampton.
But new Hammer boss Julen Lopetegui’s own transfer plans ‘may complicate Downes’ future’, and so a deal looks far from done.
How much will West Ham sell Southampton target Flynn Downes for
There was differing reports on how much West Ham paid for Downes in 2022; most reports put the figure between £9million and up to £14million with add-ons, so he won’t come cheap for Southampton this summer.
And after his impressive season in the Championship, there may be other clubs wanting to sign him this summer, or there could even be a place for him in the West Ham first-team if the Hammer’s don’t manage to sign certain targets.
But with West Ham willing to talk to Southampton about a potential deal, it suggests that Downes is facing a summer exit from East London.
West Ham may want to at least claim back what they paid for Downes. But £14million on a player who both epitomises and compliments Martins style of play, and right after securing promotion, may be a very reasonable deal for the Saints.
Martin will be hoping to get this one over the line as soon as possible.