As many know in the Premiership you can only name a 25 man squad, at present we almost have that number in our first team squad, so who wont make the cut next season.
Its not quite correct that you can only name 25, you can also play home grown youngsters under a certain age, meaning the likes of Jamie Ward Prowse wont need to take up a squad place but can still play, however Saints are still very close to the limit at present with 23 players who can be considered first team members, as it stands we can add two more to that number and with only Kelvin Davis on the books with experience one of them would need to be a keeper. Likewise in the central defensive position we only have three players and non of them have any real top flight experience at a good level.
So if Saints are to make some key signings they need to offload a few players or face having to pay them for sitting around and doing nothing, a look at the suad though shows there is scope and i feel the following are most likely to be shipped out either permanently or on loan.
In no particular order.
Lee Barnard, with five players already in front of him, including Guly for a spot up front following his problems last season, its hard to see Lee getting into the squad, but like many in this list the problem is that he is on a longish term contract and his wages will have increased with promotion clauses, this means that financially he would have to take a big drop, so its far more likely he will be put out on a season long loan as per Aaron Martin.
Ryan Dickson, Ryan has already gone public about his problem, on good money following promotion, and with the Club unwilling to negotiate on a pay off cant afford to miss out on a pay day, so again probably a season long loan for Ryan.
Joanthan Fonte, same problem as the previous two, didnt play much of a part last term and unlikely to this, 2 1/2 years left on contract so another where a loan period is more probable that a transfer unless the club relent and look to do deals.
Jason Puncheon, although one of the few in the squad with premier League experience, after coming back into the fold was still given the cold shoulder so it looks like he might want away, however with only one year left on his contract the question is will he sit tight on decent money or are we now at a stage where both parties will say enough is enough and agree parting terms.
Danny Butterfield, showed at the end of last season he is a decent player and that might be enough to earn him a squad place due to his experience and versatility.
Frazer Richardson, will Nigel Adkins feel happy with him at right back, certainly Frazer offered more going forward than defending, but we do need to shore up the defence, I cant see both Butterfield & Richardson in the squad, one will have to move on and i can see a new right back coming in next season with one or the other as cover.
Dan Seabourne, of course there is sympathy for Dan after his troubles last season, but Saints cant afford sentiment and the truth is that as a player he has never really cut it at St Mary's even in League 1, another for whom a loan spell will probably be the answer probably leading to a permanent deal in the January transfer window.
Dan Harding, I am sure to be accused of bias here, but the fact is Dan ceased to be a first team regular upon the arrival of Danny Fox, making only 12 starts, over half of which were before Fox made his full debut, since September he has been a squad player, but is he good enough for the premiership, probably not, however a three year deal last September looks a bit of a folly now we have been promoted, higher wages at St Mary's than he can get elsewhere mean another for whom a loan spell is far more likely than a permanent move.
Dean Hammond, again a harsh one, but Saints do need to improve that midfield area and they have plenty of options but little genuine Premier class, it could be that Dean suffers because of that and finds himself out in the cold.
Steve De Ridder, again I will be accused here, but the facts speak for themselves, Steeeeeve only started five league games last season and for a player who came at a significant fee and with such high hopes thats not enough, yes he played 27 times as sub but a fair proportion of them were a few minutes at the end to run the clock down, if Saints can offload him I think they will, but again with two years left on a contract its hard to see how he will be able to afford to give up his increased wages.
So there are ten players who to be blunt with the exception of perhaps Hammond will struggle to get a regular game next season and in the case of perhaps half even one game should they stay, Saints job now is to move them along in order to free up space for new signings, dont forget though its not just about game time but wages, all of them will be on increased money and moving them wont be easy because of that, but you also have to bear in mind that money used to pay their wages is money that could be used to pay someone elses, I feel we need to initially move on through transfer or loan about five of them, that would free up enough spaces in the squad to bring in new players, obvious ones are Dickson, Barnard Forte & Seaborne who didnt play much and are in positions we have cover in aside from then, Puncheon would be perhaps ideally next, but I do feel that one of the so called bigger names will also go, perhaps not now but in the January window as we look to strengthen further.