Toby Wilding

Fri 11 April 2025 14:04, UK

Southampton look to be facing more bad news following their relegation from the Premier League, after the latest update on goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

It has been a dismal season for the Saints with their defeat to Tottenham on Sunday (6 April) ensuring they became the first team relegated from the Premier League with seven games of the season to go.

Manager Ivan Juric has already left Southampton in the wake of that drop back into the second-tier, and several members of the squad could also depart in the summer transfer window.

In the case of Ramsdale though, it appears a depature at the end of the season could continue to cost the club even more from a financial perspective.

Aaron Ramsdale wages a potential transfer issue

Having only joined from Arsenal last summer, Ramsdale has endured a tough debut campaign at Southampton, like the vast majority of his teammates.

However, he could still be set to stay in the Premier League despite the Saints’ relegation, with Newcastle manager Eddie Howe understood to be a fan of Ramsdale.

Now a report from The Times has stated that West Ham are considering a move to sign the England international for around £20million.

However, according to the same report the 26-year-old is currently earning over £100,000 per week at St Mary’s.

It is therefore thought his options for a potential could be limited, unless Southampton agree to pay some of that salary, while it is also understood that an unnamed Premier League club have already asked to sign him on loan.

As a result, the Saints seemingly find themselves in a position where they may have to pay a player off, in order for him to move to a club in the division above them.

Southampton transfer threatens to be a disaster

Football Insider Verdict

It was reported that the club paid an initial £25million to sign Ramsdale from Arsenal in last summer’s transfer window [BBC Sport].

Selling him for a fee of £20million would therefore already feel like a step back, even if the amortisation of his the initial fee on the books may not represent an accounting loss.

But having to then pay some of wages in order to sanction his departure elsewhere in the top flight as the Saints are condemned to the drop, would only add to the monetary setbacks they are incurring as part of this move, while adding insult to injury of relegation.

Given they are already going to be losing significant prize money as a result of going down from the Premier League, this is a situation they could well have done without.

Of course, Ramsdale is far from being the only one to blame for what has happened to Southampton on the pitch this season, even producing some performances to keep certain scorelines respectable.

But if things do turn out in this way when it comes to the goalkeeper’s potential exit in the coming months, then this will have turned into a very messy deal from the perspective of those at St Mary’s.