Southampton duo Che Adams and Kamaldeen Sulemana could be key players for Russell Martin this season, as journalist Dean Jones provides the details on their failed departures, while speaking to GIVEMESPORT.

The Saints lost a host of players during the window, but managed to keep hold of Adams and Sulemana.

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After being relegated from the Premier League, Southampton fans would have expected some of their key stars to depart during the window. James Ward-Prowse, Tino Livramento, Nathan Tella, and Romeo Lavia are among the players to have gone through the exit door at St Mary’s, with all four earning moves back to top leagues around Europe. The disappointment for Saints fans could be that they received over £150m in sales, but only spent around £18m on new signings, as per Transfermarkt.

However, the south coast club did bring in the likes of Flynn Downes, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, and Mason Holgate on loan for the season, as they look to bounce back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Martin and his recruitment team did, however, manage to keep hold of both Sulemana and Adams, who were both attracting interest from Everton at one stage. The Southampton duo didn’t get their moves, and will now ply their trade in the Championship this campaign. Now, journalist Jones has provided some insight into what the pair can offer, despite the speculation of them leaving the club.

What has Jones said about Southampton, Adams, and Sulemana?

Jones has suggested that keeping hold of Adams and Sulemana will be like having two new signings. The journalist adds that there’s a good chance all the speculation will be put behind them over the next few weeks, and they can start performing for the Saints. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said: “Keeping those two players is as good as any two signings they could have made in the window. Obviously you have to hope the players are able to refocus mentally on the task at hand, but we see this time and again when established Premier League teams are relegated and after a couple of weeks, back in the flow of playing, all the speculation is put behind them and everything shifts towards being successful for the team that continues to pay you and play you. Saints have every chance of bouncing straight back this season and Russell Martin’s job is made easier if those two can get to the top of their game.

“Sulemana is a brilliant player. You really need players of his style in the Championship to literally change the course of games. When you talk about a game changer, he literally is capable of that. I feel like the Championship could be a really good platform for him to give himself the elevation that he needs in terms of status, even at Southampton to show people what he’s actually capable of on a weekly basis. We haven’t seen it on a consistent week by week basis, but he could do that in the Championship, and sometimes it is worth hanging around just to play the long game.”

What’s next for Southampton?

Daily Express journalist Ryan Taylor told GIVEMESPORT last week that Southampton could pull off two or three signings on deadline day. However, former Sunderland striker Ross Stewart was the only player to arrive through the door on the final day of the window, so Southampton might be slightly disappointed on that front. Although, as Jones mentioned, keeping hold of Sulemana, who is earning £40k-a-week at St Mary’s, and Adams could give them a huge boost, and the club may have only been planning signings based on the aforementioned duo departing this summer.