Southampton have finally secured the signing of Flynn Downes from West Ham in a deal worth up to £18m, with the midfielder making his stay on the South Coast permanent following a successful loan-spell last season where he helped get them back to the Premier League.
The 25-year-old becomes the seventh signing already for the Saints this summer and adds to the list of familiar faces re-joining the club, with Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Adam Lallana also returning to St. Mary's this summer.
This deal appeared to be a complicated one at the beginning of the window, particularly as West Ham had recently appointed Julen Lopetegui as manager and he, rightly so, wanted to assess all of his players before making a decision on their future.
Negotiations became even more complex when the Hammers wanted Kyle Walker-Peters to be included in the deal, a proposal that Southampton swiftly rejected.
However, despite finally getting their man without losing a key figure, West Ham still remain interested in signing Walker-Peters and are expected to compete for his signature once more.
The signing of Downes now takes Southampton’s total expenditure this summer to over £50m already - perhaps a strong signal of intent as they aim to stay in the top-flight.
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Integral in promotion
Downes joined Southampton in August 2023 and made his debut four games into the season against Queens Park Rangers, becoming pretty much an ever-present since.
He instantly became the anchor of the team with his ability to break up play and create chances from deep, attributes that the Saints were in desperate need of following the departure of James Ward-Prowse who left for West Ham after 20-years on the South Coast.
A record-breaking 25-game unbeaten run followed mid-way through the campaign, with Downes becoming a firm fan-favourite and leaving many to forget about the hole that their club captain left in the summer.
It is also clear to see just how integral he is to the team, with Southampton losing six of the 10 games he missed through injury last season, only managing one win in that time against a struggling Plymouth Argyle.
During the play-offs, Downes played every minute of all three games, orchestrating the team's impressive performances from the centre of the park to dismantle West Bromwich Albion and edge past Leeds United in the final.
Russell Martin recently said that he would "cry himself to sleep" if Southampton failed to sign Downes this summer - meaning the manager will now have a few less sleepless nights!
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Downes' career so far...
Downes begun his career at Ipswich and, after coming through the academy, he became a key figure in the first team, as well as being the youngest ever person to captain the side, doing so at the age of 20.
99 appearances later, he was signed by Russell Martin at Swansea for £1.5m - ending his 15-year association with Ipswich and establishing a link with Martin that would turn out to be vital later down the line.
After less than a year in Wales, he was snapped up by his boyhood club West Ham for around £12m, signing a five-year contract.
He may have only managed 35 appearances for the East London club, but 11 of these did come in their historic UEFA Conference League campaign - helping them win their first trophy in 43 years after beating Fiorentina 2-1 in Prague.
A loan move to Southampton followed last year and the rest is now history, with the player going from somewhat of an 'unknown quantity' at West Ham to an integral cog in an exciting team.
