There were many eyebrows raised by Saints supporters, during the 2024 summer transfer window, most of the 14 arrivals did not exactly excite the fan base, so lets give the initial verdict on the new men.

First in was Adam Lallana, although he arrived on a free transfer there were many critic, some said that he was too old, others said he should not have been allowed back due to the manner in which he left and some said he was too injury prone.

But some also said that his experience would be crucial and it would be more about what he could bring to the dressing room than on the pitch .

Initially the sceptics appeared to be right, he limped up in the warm up for the first pre season friendly and would miss the opening two games of the season in the League, but since then he has played a part in every game and shown that he can be a big influence, he has an assist for both of our Premier League goals so far and although it is likely that he won't complete 90 minutes in a game, the 60 or so he can give us could be vital.

Verdict - A free transfer and a very good signing, he has already shown his quality and hopefully will continue to do so Hit so far.

Three signings were players who were on loan with us last season, Flynn Downes has started to show he can play in the Premier League and was captain against Ipswich on Saturday, being blunt he should retain the honour, he lead by both example and manner.

Taylor Harwood Bellis did struggle a little to step up, but there were mitigating circumstances in a defence that seemed to be playing to strict orders, he was dropped against United with Jack Stephens replacing him, but he has bounced back and if he continues with his form in the last couple of games then he shouldn't be dropped.

Ryan Fraser has only just arrived and is clearly lacking fitness having not trained with the first team squad at Newcastle prior to his arrival, but we know what he did last season and he has also done it in the Premier League before.

Verdicts- Downes & THB have adapted to the Premier League and will only get better, so both hits, the Wee Man made his first start against Ipswich and will be a vital part so Hit.

Nathan Wood from Swansea & Ronnie Edwards from Peterborough were both fairly cheap purchases, Wood has made two appearances in the League cup and played well, and Edwards just the one against Cardiff and struggled a little, but they could both flourish for different reasons, Wood is a good squad player and Edwards is one for the future, albeit he already has over 100 League games under his belt, Verdict- Jury is still out, but they were never signed to step straight into the starting line up.

Charlie Taylor was another free transfer and like Lallana is here for his experience, although at 31 he is a little younger than our prodigal son, suffered from the fact that Captain Jack plays in his positions, but in 2 League cup appearances and on Saturday against Ipswich showed why we signed him. Verdict - Hit

Ben Brereton Diaz is a bit of an enigma, a good scoring record in the Premier League for Sheffield United but that was only for a short period, so his experience in the top flight is limited, he has shown in glimpses that he can be a good signing and again a good price Verdict - Hit but only just and it could go either way.

Cameron Archer showed that he can finish in the League cup at Cardiff, but has struggled in the premier League, but in mitigation the service given to him has been poor, I would hope that he will not be defined by that penalty miss against Manchester United Verdict- Jury is still out.

Maxwel Cornet, again he has had limited game time so hard to judge, could be a hit or miss so Verdict Jury very much waiting to see enough to jusge.

Mateus Fernandes could be the bargain of the season if his early showings continue, has been superb so far showing that he can not only create things, but also roll up his sleeves and graft. Verdict - Very much a hit.

Lesley Ugochukwu seemed to be lacking a bit of sharpness when he arrived, but he has improved with each outing, could well be a vital player as the season goes on and he gets experience under his belt. Verdict- Bubbling under but the signs are good so Hit.

Yukinari Suguwara impressed from his very first pre season friendly and seems to have adapted well to the premier League and of course is currently our joint leading scorer in the league with his superb strike at Brentford. Verdict - Very much a hit.

Last but not least is Aaron Ramsdale, he has been an instant hit despite his first two games seeing his defence collapse around him and gifting literally 6 of the 7 goals conceded, he will be worth 10 points this season and although he was big money could well turn out to be the best value pound for pound. Verdict - Very much a hit.

So that is the verdict on all 14 signings, with so few games it is hard to give anyone a bad review yet, but those that have played most of the games have either been good or average rather than poor, in the main it has been the players already here that have cost us points.

All 14 have the potential to play a part this season, some more than others, against Ipswich we showed that if we play the right players in the right positions and stay organised then we can compete,

Some have the potential to become real fan favourites perhaps even club legends,

Photo: Reuters or Imago

IanRC added 09:11 - Sep 24 Disagree about B-D and Archer, both look ineffective still leaving us without a reliable goal scorer (although I guess Tyler might be our savior there). SR have really let us down there again. In fairness most of the others look really good signings, particularly Fernando's and Sugawara.
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IanRC added 09:12 - Sep 24 Fernandes, flipping auto correct.
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Block8 added 09:39 - Sep 24 Its more of a problem for the strikers as our style of play doesn't offer them the opportunity to slip in behind the defence. Our extremely slow build up gives the opposition greater chances of recovery, than our own defence gets when they break. I would like to see us play with two up front but not sat out on the flanks all of the time as seems at present. Maybe given a decent chance our strikers can come good. If they don't it's really immaterial how the others do!

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halftimeorange added 11:19 - Sep 24 On the strikers front, Diaz is no left-winger and should be tried in the centre, Archer appears to be short on confidence as does Armstrong and Ross Stewart is still not quite match-fit. But, whatever their situations, we aren't creating chances at speed for any of them and, until we do, we are destined not to score many goals.
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Bowlercow added 11:26 - Sep 24 Keeping the "hits" happy and here will be the problem If SR sack Martin we will lose Downes Dibling Sugawara and a few others who are his prodigys
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underweststand added 12:47 - Sep 24 Agree with most of your ideas ( Nick) but the overriding factor is that " THIS is the Prem" . and many of the faults we have made so far are also common to several other sides. At the end of last season Armstrong was the only mainline striker, ( Stewart was still unfit for games) and most others were just " talented youngsters". BBD and Archer were signed late on the scene, (suggesting they weren't near the top of our wish list in the beginning) but I think in time, they will come good. BBD looks a type of Chas. Austin " streetfighter " which is no criticism. He may lack sophistication, but I like to see a striker (he really is a CF), who can put himself about and he will cause defences some real problems. Archer has goals in him, but the Prem. is a genuine problem for better players than him who have not shown up so far. I'm reminded that 20-odd years ago, it took a while for James Beattie to find his feet before he hit any real form. Glad to see Downes back but he needs to find himself at the higher level, but I'm running out of superlatives for the likes of Sugawara and Fernandes (both foreigners) who are now stepping into the Prem. for the first time and look very impressive. I'd be happy with 60 minutes of Lallana every week, (he's still a class act) and I'd pick Taylor over Manning every time. The two young CB's will develop - given time, but Aaron Ramsdale is a real find (regardless of the results) , and I recall that Peter Shilton had a nightmare start with Saints after he arrived, when his defence was still on holiday, and we conceded 18 goals in the first handful of matches. We've been notorious bad starters for decades so that I'm not panicked so far.

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1teeminants added 16:17 - Sep 24 Edwards played well against Lazio . He’ll be fine but needs to play some cup games .
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allsaint54 added 19:08 - Sep 24 Archer flatters to deceive. Just 2 goals last year, got into good positions but just couldn't finish. No wonder Villa were so keen to sell, must have thought they'd won the lottery when we were willing to pay £15m. Nothing I've seen so far would indicate he's any better than Mara or AA. Yet again we've wasted money on a so said striker who can't strike.
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StRipper added 13:08 - Sep 25 Certainly fair assessments. The problem that it raises for me is that some of these signings and the carry over of average players from last year give lie to Lallana's claim that the pathway for youngsters is wide open. It was noticeable that Amo-Ameyaw was missing from the bench against Ipswich. Instead those places were used by Cornet, , Ugochukwu and Aribo, effectively. Seeing as AA was one of the stars from preseason, you would think the coaches would be eager to give AA more opportunities, seeing as Dibling and his fearless play has been such a success. Sadly, we are sacrificing what our home grown players will offer to favour minutes for loanees and journeymen who have not earned their place. Exactly what we got wrong last season. The loanees no doubt have terms in their contracts that they must play a part in our season, be that through minutes on the pitch or appearances. Which works entirely against giving our own youth players time. I know I would rather have seen AA come on over Aribo and Ugochukwu who have not shown they are up to the EPL yet. And then Cornet who has offered little to nothing on the few appearances he has had

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