Southampton are now less than two weeks away from kicking off their Championship campaign, yet their squad could look substantially different come kick-off on the opening day against Sheffield Wednesday.
What is the latest Southampton transfer news?
The big talking points regarding Southampton's transfer activity are not so much who they have bought and sold, but more so who could potentially be moved on.
Romeo Lavia, Tino Livramento and James Ward-Prowse each continue to be linked with a return to the Premier League, with the Saints demanding big fees for each of the trio.
That is not to mention the likes of Che Adams and Carlos Alcaraz, who have also been touted as targets for teams in the top flight.
New manager Russell Martin has so far signed Shea Charles from Manchester City and Ryan Manning from former side Swansea City, plus young pair Josh McNamara and Derrick Abu.
According to The Guardian, Martin may well be reunited with another of his ex-Swansea stalwarts, as West Ham have offered Flynn Downes to Southampton as part of a deal that would see Ward-Prowse head the opposite way.
What position does Flynn Downes play?
Downes joined West Ham from Swansea in a £12m deal last July but struggled to make much of an impact in his debut campaign in east London, starting just seven Premier League games. A year on, CIES Football Observatory values Downes at just £4m.
The 24-year-old was used more regularly as a substitute and featured 21 times in all competitions, predominantly as a pure central midfielder but also in a more advanced position and on the right.
It is in the middle of the pitch that Downes does the most damage – not that his work is always appreciated. As Martin himself said during their time together at Swansea: "He does the dirty work really well which sometimes goes unsung.
"He enables people to do their roles brilliantly. He plays with no ego at all and knows exactly what his role in the team is."
The 71.9 passes per 90 minutes Downes completed for Swansea in the 2021/22 season was the 10th-most of any player in the Championship, as per FBref, while his pass-completion rate of 92.6% was the best in the entire division.
Despite his lack of appearances – or perhaps because of it – the former England U20 international also led the way for pass completion among West Ham players in the Premier League last season (87.3%).
Downes would be a good replacement for Ward-Prowse, and especially Lavia, but there is another former Southampton player the Englishman is more alike in terms of playing style – Oriol Romeu, who this week joined Barcelona.
As per FBref, Downes won 1.13 tackles per 90 minutes in his final season with Swansea, compared to 1.21 for Romeu in the same season – his last at St Mary's – albeit at a higher level.
They were involved in 0.12 and 0.09 goals per 90 minutes respectively, meanwhile, and were involved in a similar number of goal-creating actions per 90 (0.12 v 0.19), which takes actions such as passes and take-ons directly leading to a goal into consideration.
That is not to say Downes is on his own path to Barcelona, but the midfielder has a proven pedigree in the Championship and would certainly help soften the blow of losing key man Ward-Prowse.