Southampton closing in on Swansea City star
Wood looks to be close to sealing a switch to St Mary’s to link up with former boss Russell Martin.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Southampton are close to signing Nathan Wood from Swansea City in a £10m deal, with talks almost completed, according to journalist Rudy Galetti.
- The Saints have made a number of sales, including Tino Livramento and James Ward-Prowse, which should enable them to strengthen their squad before the transfer window deadline.
- Adding depth to their defence could be a key priority before the window closes.
Southampton are close to concluding negotiations with Swansea City in their quest to sign Nathan Wood, according to journalist Rudy Galetti who revealed this information to Give Me Sport.
The Saints have the license to strengthen their squad considerably during the final days of the transfer window, with Russell Martin’s side making a number of sales in recent months.
Not only have Tino Livramento, James Ward-Prowse and Romeo Lavia departed, but Mohammed Salisu also left in a big-money deal.
Although the south-coast side spent a considerable amount on Shea Charles earlier in this window, the sales of key players should enable them to strengthen a number of areas before the deadline at the start of next month.
What is the state of play in Southampton’s centre-back department?
On paper, the Saints have some decent options in this area, with Mason Holgate, Jack Stephens, Lyanco, Jan Bednarek and Armel Bella-Kotchap all at the club still.
Even with the addition of Holgate, they may be forced into the transfer market to strengthen this area once more, with Zach Awe still inexperienced at this point.
Salisu and Duje Caleta-Car left the club earlier this summer as well – and Bella-Kotchap and Lyanco have both been linked with moves away from St Mary’s in recent times.
How many central defenders they require may depend on the formation they play though – because they could operate with a back three or a back four during the 2023/24 campaign.
What is the latest on Southampton’s pursuit of Nathan Wood?
Galetti believes the Saints are fully focused on getting a deal for Wood over the line – and thinks they are close to succeeding in their quest with the decent budget they have at their disposal.
He told GMS: “Southampton completed in the past days the loan signing of Flynn Downes who, as we were told, was among their main targets.
“Now, the Saints are fully focused on Nathan Wood deal, and the talks with Swansea are almost completed with Wood ready to join Southampton on a permanent deal of around £10m with add-ons.”
Holgate and Ryan Fraser joined the club yesterday – and Wood could follow them through the door following this recent update.
Is this Nathan Wood deal good for both Southampton and Swansea City?
The Saints could benefit from adding even more depth to their defence and this is one reason why this signing is a positive one for the Saints if they can seal it.
And Wood is already accustomed to Martin’s methods, so it shouldn’t take him long at all to settle into life at St Mary’s.
This move is a positive one for the player too – because he has proved a lot of people at Middlesbrough wrong and has a decent chance of securing a lot of game time on the south coast.
From Swansea’s point of view, they have secured another good fee for a player but Michael Duff needs to be fully backed in the transfer market if he goes, with Joel Piroe also departing the club.
You just feel the Swans would have benefitted from retaining him – because he’s a good defender and could have helped Duff’s side to secure a place in the promotion mix at the end of this term with the expertise he has.
