19th: Southampton
This might come as a surprise to a lot of people but I just don’t see this Southampton squad being able to do much in the league this year. One of the more surprising moves of the transfer window came recently when Danny Ings left the Saints for Aston Villa. Obviously Ings was a key part to Southampton’s success as he was their top goalscorer bagging 12 goals in 29 Premier League appearances. But I actually think this was great business for Southampton getting reportedly 30 million pounds for the 29 year old striker.
The Saints replacement for Ings was just announced to be Adam Armstrong from Blackburn. Armstrong was the second leading goalscorer in the Championship last year with 28 goals in 40 appearances. The other notable business Southampton has done this summer is making the loan move of Theo Walcott permanent from Everton. They also signed left back Romain Perraud from Stade Brest 29 to seemingly replace Ryan Bertrand who left for Leicester on a free. Lastly, just today Jannik Vestergaard completed his transfer to Leicester City.
Even with this good business I still think Southampton are destined for a rough season. With Ings and Vestergaard gone, and heavy rumors that James Ward-Prowse will also be going elsewhere, that’s three of the Saints best players from last year gone. Not to mention the Saints thin squad depth won’t help.
I’m sure they’ll try to bring in a few more players before the end of the window with this new money but unfortunately I don’t think it’ll be enough to stop their struggles from the second half of last season. That poor second half I’m talking about is 14 points from a possible 57. If they continue that form, then 19th seems a very possible finish.