Most of the talk amongst Southampton fans is about who will be coming into the club during the summer, but there may well also be some departures and not just from the fringe s of the squad.

One of the first issues that Russell Martin has to tackle is that of Jan Bednarek, the Polish defender is out of contract in the summer of 2025, so with just a year left of his contract, there is a decision to be made and southamptonfc.news suggest that that decision could be to sell him now, if he does not sign a new deal.

Bednarek joined Southampton in the summer of 2017 and was initially a slow starter, although he made his debut a month after joining in the League cup, it would five months before he featured again, this time in the FA Cup.

Indeed it would be April 2018 before he made his League debut and it would be a scoring one when he notched the second goal in what would be a 3-2 defeat to Chelsea.

Although he would go on to play 5 times in the League under new manager Mark Hughes as Saints survived a relegation battle by the skin of his teeth, the following season Hughes did not seem to fancy him and he would start just two League games before Hughes was sacked in December 2018.

But when Ralph Hasenhuttl arrived the fortunes changed for Bednarek and for the remainder of 2018/19 and for the following 3 seasons he would be a regular in the side.

But in the summer of 2022 he became restless and forced a loan move to Aston Villa, if he thought that would see him move on a stage in his career though he would be wrong, he would make just 3 league appearances for Villa plus one more in the cup and returned to St Mary's in January 2023. In November 2022, Bednarek opened up on mental health struggles he had been having as the reasons for forcing the change of club.

He returned to a side in deep trouble and in fairness brought some steel to the side, but the damage had already been done and Saints were to be relegated.

It was expected that Bednarek might depart last summer given his issues a year earlier, but there seemed to be little interest in signing him from the level of club that might interest him and he stayed for season 2023/24 in the Championship and once again became a rock in the team.

So what does the future now hold for Bednarek, does he still feel that at 28 his future lies with the club or will he again be getting itchy feet and looking at options.

From a Southampton perspective, it is a case of whether he will sign a new deal, if he does then that is stating the obvious, but if he doesn't then it would be fair to say that the club would be looking to cash in whilst they have time.

One thing that Russell Martin will have options in when his squad returns to training in a months time is the centre of defence, Armel Bella-Kotchap and Duje Caleta- Car will both return from loan and the manager will have to make a decision on their future.

Hopefully the Taylor Harwood-Bellis deal will be completed without a hitch and with Jack Stephens able to play in the centre we will have numbers but perhaps still lacking the quality that we need.

That means that even if Bednarek stays and assuming that the two loaned out players leave, either permanently or out on loan again, we would still need to bring in another central defender, one with Premier League experience and organisational and leadership qualities.

But first is the question of Jan bednarek and whether he stays or goes.

Photo: Action Images

halftimeorange added 09:26 - Jun 3 I'd try and keep him. To my mind he had his best season just finished and his partnership with Harwood-Bellis is only in its infancy and will surely only improve as Jan probably has another four years in him (and he knows RM's preferred method of playing).
6

Jesus_02 added 09:51 - Jun 3 I didn't realise Jans age. For me he has about 5 years left 3 of those will be his prime. Makes best business sense to keep him and Also for stability of the team.
6

landsdownsaint added 10:14 - Jun 3 He’s a player that’s been messed about a bit by management ,he’s never hidden & represents SFC to the best of his ability , Iv always liked him
3

SaintPaulVW added 10:37 - Jun 3 Decent stopper. Would prefer to keep but if he won't sign a new deal, he'll probably have to go. Although, will anyone in PL be interested? I would imagine Championship clubs might be more keen but is that what he's after. I'm not aware he's expressed any desire to play back on the continent. I imagine he'll vanish right at the last minute if he goes go.
2

IanRC added 11:02 - Jun 3 He has been a star for us on many occasions. I think in at least one PL season he was the defender who made the most blocks. That shows how good he is at reading strikers. If he will sign a no brainier for me.
3

Sanguin added 13:10 - Jun 3 Despite the schadenfreude I enjoyed from his limited playtime at Villa, I've loved his passion and work rate since he's been back. But I'm also really excited about the prospect of THB/ABK as our main partnership. That said, I think we'll play 5 at the back out of possession a lot more next season, so we should have room in the squad for three starting centre backs and I'd love to see him as one of them.

1

livsgrandad added 13:41 - Jun 3 Im sorry to say it but we should let jack stephens go rather than jb.dont get me wrong hes been a good servant to our club, but at times hes a liability, hes probably got a few years left at championship level,but definitely not a premiership player.. . We do need to bring in an experienced cb or 2.....also if we dont get flynn ,a solid central mid fielder... who can control midfield... we also need midfielders who are prepared to attack the box through the middle of the park. We also need a tall target man up front....keep bringipng the youth t hrough as these young players are hungry and show no fear.....

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Block8 added 15:58 - Jun 3 Probably our best defender over the course of the season & we certainly won't get what it'll cost to replace him. Stay please with a bit of a pay rise!
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DellBoyWally added 16:30 - Jun 3 Why does ABK get mentioned? He has been dreadful and ranked one of the poorest CBs in Europe. Plus he has spent lots of time out with his dodgy shoulder as he was with us. Get whatever we can for him, along with JS, and bring in an experienced PL CB or another THB!
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YosemiteSaint added 19:03 - Jun 3 Ideally we keep him. And/But, to survive in the Prem we need lots more steel in central defense. Sell him or keep him, we need to recruit someone else, preferably a Dean Richards type (Dean being doubly missed, having passed, and at such a young age).
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UgandaSaint added 05:16 - Jun 4 Some people have short memories. He was consistently caught out for lack of pace in the Premier, that's why no Premier club bought him last year and why he flopped at Villa. THB and KWP are the only 2 defenders we have who are good enough, we need to buy a goalkeeper, CB and left back.
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