Southampton are already planning to sign a new goalkeeper in the summer of 2022 with Fraser Forster’s contract due to expire in ten months’ time, as reported by The Athletic.
Is Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad stronger than it was at the end of May, when the Saints slumped to a disappointing 15th place finish? Or weaker?
Well, as with most things in football, the answer is not so much black or white as a graphite-shade of grey.
On one hand, it is hard to argue that a side shorn of the services of Jannik Vestergaard and Danny Ings is better now than it was before.
On the other, exciting, up-and-coming talent like Thierry Small, Armando Broja and Tino Livramento have given Hasenhuttl some much-needed depth in a number of key positions.
The commanding, technically-gifted Lyanco could emulate Vestergaard’s impact at centre-half while, if that brilliantly taken debut goal against Everton is anything to go by, Armstrong certainly boasts the dead-eyed efficiency to replace Ings’ productivity in the final third.
And that’s without mentioning the return to Moi Elyounoussi, the £16 million forgotten man who’s scored four goals in two games since returning to St Mary’s from a confidence-boosting loan spell at Celtic.
Who will be Southampton’s goalkeeper in 2022?
Some on the South Coast remain concerned about the absence of a truly top-quality shot-stopper but, according to The Athletic, that is a problem the Saints are looking sooner rather than later.
The £70,000-a-week Forster will be a free agent next summer and, with Alex McCarthy arguably one of the division’s weaker goalkeepers, it is understood that Southampton are already putting plans in place to sign a new number one in time for next season.
This, then, feels like a big season for McCarthy.
Fail to perform consistently and this could be his final year as Southampton’s first-choice glovesman.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
