Southampton kicked off their 2023/24 Championship season in impressive fashion as they beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at Hillsborough and supporters were able to see one of the new faces in action for the first time.

Who have Southampton signed this summer?

Russell Martin has been able to make two senior additions to his playing squad during the summer transfer window and one of them – Ryan Manning – made his debut last Friday night.

The left-back, who joined on a free transfer from Swansea City, enjoyed a terrific first match as he ended the game with a whopping 174 touches of the ball and two chances created, as per Sofascore.

Shae Charles, the club’s only other signing – from Manchester City – so far, did not get on the pitch as the Northern Ireland international was an unused substitute.

There is still plenty of time for the Scottish head coach to bolster his squad further and one player he has been linked with an interest in is Norwich City right-back Max Aarons, who has reportedly been valued at £10m.

How good is Max Aarons?

The England U21 international is a proven Championship performer who also has Premier League experience and the Saints could repeat the masterclass they played with Nathan Redmond by signing the full-back.

In 2016, the club raided the Canaries to sign the 22-year-old winger, who was also an England U21 star with 28 caps under his belt, for a fee within the region of £11m.

Redmond had made over 100 appearances for Norwich and had won promotion from the Championship, during the 2015/16 campaign, and played two seasons of top-flight football.

The similarities with Aarons are striking as the current Yellows defender is a 23-year-old England U21 ace who has played in the top two divisions for his club, which means that he is an experienced player who also has the potential to develop further.

He has played over 200 matches for the Canaries in all competitions and featured in two Premier League campaigns, whilst he has also won promotion out of the Championship twice – as a champion on both occasions.

Redmond went on to play 232 games for Southampton and was directly involved in 57 goals from out wide. He was also in the starting line-up for the club’s League Cup final defeat to Manchester United at Wembley in 2017.

The English wizard enjoyed a long career at St. Mary’s before his move to Besiktas last summer and Aarons, who ex-boss Daniel Farke claimed has an “unbelievable future”, could now follow in his footsteps to be an important player for the Saints for many years to come.

At the age of 23, the exciting dynamo would arrive with plenty of seasons left in the tank to develop and improve whilst also having the experience and quality to make an immediate impact on the pitch.

He has twice been named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year at the end of the 2020/21 and 2018/19 title-winning seasons at Carrow Road.

Aarons knows what it takes to get promoted out of this division, having done so twice with Norwich, and his arrival could provide Martin’s side with a lift because of his pedigree and ability at this level.