Saints Announce Double Goalkeeper Signings Saturday, 18th Jun 2022 08:41 For Southampton FC goalkeepers are like buses, you wait for ages and then all of a sudden two come along at once, with the club announcing not one keeper arriving at St Mary's but two. Neither of the two goalkeeper signings just announced by the club are a shock to Saints supporters, both have been heavily linked in the media over the past couple of weeks and now those rumours have been confirmed as being true. Gavin Bazunu looks set to fight it out with Alex McCarthy for the number 1 spot, but there has to be questions raised in this area, McCarthy has shown over the his time at the club that although he is an able deputy, he has never been able to hold down the number one spot for an entire season. Conversely Gavin Bazunu who spent last season on loan at Portsmouth where he was voted Blue Few Player Of The Year is only 20 years old and has not played above League One level, the more cautious Saints supporters will point to the signing of Angus Gunn a few years ago, he too came from Manchester City highly rated after a spell out on loan with Norwich in the Championship, but it didn't work out. The main reason why it didn't work out with Gunn was that he had a shambles of a central defence in front of him that constantly left him exposed, his form and confidence went and it could be said he has never truly recovered. Hopefully Bazunu will be provided with an experienced defence in front of him and can thrive, lets hope so because to be blunt we cannot rely on McCarthy on past evidence. Ralph Hasenhüttl said: “As a club, we are always on the lookout for young talent and Gavin is a very exciting addition to the squad. We believe he has tremendous potential to improve and will give us great competition for places in the goalkeeping department. “He is a goalkeeper with a very modern style of play, comfortable in the build-up phase, who has developed physically through some very important loan moves early in his career. “He is already an international goalkeeper, which is very rare for his age. Coming from Manchester City, we know he has learned from some of the very best coaches and teammates, and coming here gives him more opportunities to develop his game through playing in the Premier League.”
Gavin Bazunu said: “I’m delighted to be here. It’s been in the works for a few weeks and I’m really happy that we’ve got everything over the line, and I’m just excited to see what’s ahead. “I feel like it’s a place I can come and develop and learn my game. The biggest thing is opportunity — the fact that I can come here and have a chance to play regular football. Just to be given that opportunity to fight for my place is the biggest thing that I could’ve asked for.” According to rumour although Lis has signed a five year contract, he is expected to be loaned out next season to a club in Europe with France being named. This could be because Saints might struggle to get a work permit for him, however a spell in the top flight of a major European league, would make that permit a lot easier to obtain. Perhaps this deal shows where the Sport Republic strategy lies in that they will invest in players and trade them out on loan to improve them to the standard needed for the Premier League and if not to make a profit from their sale. Whilst many might not see the logic in this, it has to be said it is the way forward for many clubs in the future.
Ralph Hasenhuttl had this to say about his 2nd new keeper signing and perhaps we should look to his last words for a clue. “Mateusz is a player who has a lot of the right attributes we look for in a goalkeeper, and still with his best years ahead of him. “Of course, it was a priority for us to strengthen this department in the summer, and Mateusz is an important addition who we hope will be able to help us in the future.” Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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