Predicted Line-Up:
Strengths:
Midfield - Despite the sales of Lallana and possibly Schneiderlin, Southampton actually have a very strong midfield. Cork is a fantastic player who is very underrated, Wanyama is a strong ball winning midfielder who contrasts well with Cork and Ward-Prowse is an extremely talented young play-maker with fantastic delivery from set-pieces.
Creation - Dusan Tadic is a wonderfully talented player and will be a creative force for the Saints. With players like Ward-Prowse, Sean Davis and Jay Rodriguez all supplying the forwards, there should be no problem with scoring goals.
Weaknesses:
Central Defence - Jose Fonte is a good centre-back, however Yoshida is not really good enough for a mid-table Premier League team. Dejan Lovren was a key part of Saints' success last season and will be sorely missed. However, Saints do have two solid full-backs, but they may be weak in the heart of the defence.
Signings:
Dusan Tadic - The Eredivisie is full of talent and Tadic was one of the top players in the Eredivisie last year. There have been plenty of success stories in recent years of players signed from the Dutch league - look at Suarez and Bony - so Southampton will be hoping Tadic can excel. He is a skillful play-maker who can beat a man and is a wonderful passer.
Graziano Pellè - A strong centre-forward who is great in the air but decent with his feet too. He should be a more than capable replacement for Lambert. Another Eredivisie star, Pellè could be Saints' main goalscorer next season if he can reproduce his form.
Ryan Bertrand - Very good loan signing for Saints, Bertrand is a very capable defender who is decent going forward. Luke Shaw he is not, but Bertrand is a good left-back in his own right. I wouldn't be surprised to see him move in a permanent deal at the end of the season.
Saphir Taider - A dynamic midfielder who keeps hold of the ball well and works very hard to win it back. He's not a goal scoring midfielder, but he should be a reasonable replacement for Schneiderlin, given his reputation as a hardworking and physical player.
Shane Long - Not particularly prolific, but Long is a hardworking forward who creates space for the players around him with his pace and work rate. I think he'll be far more prolific in a Southampton shirt, but £12m is a lot of money for him and I'm not sure he's that good.
Fraser Forster - Top class 'keeper who will be a wonderful signing, in my opinion. He is commanding but still a brilliant shot stopper and should be a mainstay in the England squad in the next few years.
Who They Should Sign:
A Central Defender - Saints need another centre-back quickly, and a very good one. The problem for them is that top class centre-backs are in short supply at the moment, so they will have to pay a lot to find one.
A Winger - Saints need some cover for Rodriguez and Tadic, as one injury would leave them short out wide. I have a feeling that Long may be used out wide too and think he'll do a great job in the Rodriguez role, but another winger would not go amiss.
Final Thoughts:
People saying that Saints' squad is not good enough after being ravaged by 'bigger' teams are overreacting, in my opinion. Their squad is good enough for a mid-table finish and they've made a lot of money this summer. Whilst their squad is weaker than it was, it's not that big a difference.
Southampton will hope that Pellè and Tadic bed in quickly, as this will greatly improve their chances of a top 10 finish. They'll need Rodriguez to recapture his pre-injury form from last season, then they will be a dangerous outfit.
I genuinely believe that there is no chance of Southampton going down and they should be in line for another mid-table finish.
Article contributed by: Elliott Griffiths
Twitter: @ElliottBCFC
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