I think Bazunu needs some competition to drive his development - he hasn't had that at Southampton since he joined.
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saints going up isnt great news for baz really is it? injury coupled with poor form this year , they'll definitely looking for a new no.1. hopefully his agent keeps ears to the ground once hes back fit. even a 6 month loan deal back to the championship after he recovers would be good.
They're still a selling club and Bazunu is an investment they hope makes them a few quid. Think whoever comes in will likely be for one season but the worry is if he's having a good season it's gonna be hard to drop him and fans will want said keeper to remain as number one.
It's a risk, but the most likely outcome is they leak goals like a sieve in the Premiership anyway and wind up rotating goalkeepers more out of hope than anything. There's no point worrying about it; he should aim to fully recover from the injury first and then figure things out. He was probably too expensive for them to leave on the bench long term anyway. They'll play him or look to sell.
Bazunu will not be fit to play until the new year at the earliest - and unless there is a massive upgrade in the squad and a change in approach from Martin, they will likely be rooted to the bottom of the PL by Christmas, leaking goals all over the place. Indeed - I think it is likely that Martin will be gone by Christmas. I would expect Bazunu back in the team as soon as he is fit - but it will be more like two seasons ago than last season in terms of what happens then. By the way - it is false to say that Bazunu was in poor form last season - overall he played well, in a team that does not defend (which makes the goalkeeper's job very difficult). The problem is that he is stuck in a team that will likely be bouncing between the PL and Championship for the next few years (and if they fail to get promoted any year they will end up as a mid-table Championship team). Bazunu is probably stuck there for another three seasons because of his contract - unless he makes a major step forward and gets a transfer to a PL club.
As I said before - there is a massive and growing gulf between the PL and the Championship and the likelihood is that we will just see a rotation of the promoted clubs getting immediately relegated. Forest were lucky this year and because of the fair play stuff, could get dragged into a relegation battle next season - but at best the three promoted clubs will be in the bottom four.
Southampton seem to be looking for a new keeper, been reported they are talking to feyenood about Bijlow and Arsenal about Ramsdale, if either sign they would be going there as the no 1, Bazunu chances of game time after his recovery wouldnt be great..
Surprised they left it this long to be honest, always felt there was no way they could go back into the Premier League with Alex McCarthy as their first choice keeper until at least January and not knowing what kind of form Bazunu might come back in after that.
Maybe Southampton should sign Kelleher just to really get people fired up on here :D
At least then there would be a good chance of one of them playing.
Arguably it's more telling that Southampton are in the market for a keeper late in the window and yet it seems they're not showing any interest in Kelleher.
They are looking at Ramsdale as a loan deal - but have competition from Wolves - and that would be until Bazunu recovered
Bijlow is a good keeper but I don't think he would automatically be ahead of Bazunu - however, he is very injury prone (only played 17 times last season).
The problem for Bazunu is the type of injury he suffered. It is usually an injury that hits players in their late 20s and 30s - so Bazunu was very young for it to happen. On top of that the Achilles injury is the worst injury that can happen to a goalkeeper in terms of recovery and the possibility of re-injury. It is particularly a problem when jumping for a ball, indeed any goalkeeping situation that requires a spring from your feet. But jumping is a major problem because of the danger of re-injury when landing. Rehab is crucial and coming back even a couple of weeks early can wreck a career. Here is hoping, but this injury could seriously disrupt Bazunu's career.
As an aside - In 2022 Atlanta reserve goalie Dylan Castanheira (age 27) suffered an Achilles injury. Two weeks later their first choice goalkeeper US international Brad Guzan (aged 37) suffered the same injury. Neither were as bad as Bazunu's. In 2018 Claudio Bravo (35 at the time) suffered the same injury and was out for exactly a year. In March 2022 Villa keeper Jed Steer (aged 29) suffered an Achilles rupture - he didn't play for almost two seasons (this time with Peterbrough). In April 2023 Daryl Dike (aged 23), WBA's America forward, damaged his Achilles. He returned in February 2024 and four games in he damaged his Achilles again - he is not expected to return until Feb 2025 at the earliest.
It is a very serious injury.
Southampton can't afford the £30m it would cost to sign Kelleher.
If Kelleher does leave Liverpool it will likely be to a pretty big European club. The PL teams that would spend that type of money all already have keepers (with the possible exception of Chelsea and they have spent over £60m on keepers in the last year). Forest would be an outside possibility - because their owner is mad.
Juventus were reported to be interested - Szczesny retired and they have sh*te goalkeepers at the moment.
If Liverpool sign Giorgi Mamardashvili - Valencia will need a keeper as well (my brother-in-law who lives there said there are local rumours about Kelleher).
Wolves are supposed to be interested - but they have FFP issues and would probably want a loan.
Basically the money they're asking for is bonkers. A player with his age profile and limited appearance record is worth about £10m to £12m.