Southampton confident they will sign "terrific" defender who Martin wants

Southampton confident they will sign "terrific" defender who Martin wants

Southampton manager Russell Martin is looking to sign a "terrific" new defender this summer, and he and the club are confident of getting a deal completed, according to reports.

Southampton transfer rumours

After being relegated from the Premier League in 2022/23, Southampton secured a swift return to the English top-flight this past season. The Saints finished 4th in the Championship before going on to beat Leeds United in the play-off final last month, joining Leicester City and Ipswich Town as the newly promoted sides for the forthcoming campaign.

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If Southampton are to avoid the drop this time around, they are expected to be active on the transfer front during the current window. While the window has only been open a few days, the south coast outfit have already completed two deals, with Taylor Harwood-Bellis making a permanent switch from Manchester City after a loan spell last season and Adam Lallana rejoining the club following the expiration of his Brighton contract.

In terms of further potential incomings, Southampton have made a bid for teenage forward Jeronimo Domina, while Newcastle are looking to offload Ryan Fraser this summer and the player ‘has agreed a deal with Southampton’.

Saints are also among the clubs interested in signing Joe Rodon this summer, with promotion rivals Ipswich Town mentioned as possible suitors as well.

Southampton confident they will sign "terrific" defender

Now, a fresh Southampton transfer update has been provided. The player being targeted by the newly-promoted side is former Middlesbrough and current Swansea City centre-back Nathan Wood. During his time at Middlesbrough, ex-Crewe Alexandra boss David Artell was full of praise for the stopper, labelling him as "terrific" during a loan spell there.

“Nathan is a terrific lad and has a really bright future in the game," he said. "He is committed, athletic and has picked things up really quickly. Nathan spoke to the group afterwards and he was very good. He spoke really well and it was terrific for a lad of his age to do that.

“He said his bit. He spoke about the real togetherness and spirit of the group and I’ve been saying that to them all season. They probably don’t always believe me, but I’ve been in the game and now we have a young lad from a Championship club saying the same thing. It was really positive and he spoke about the real opportunity we have this season."

According to an update from Darren Witcoop via X, Russell Martin is driving a move for the defender and while Southampton have already seen two bids rejected for Wood, the Saints boss is now confident he will be able to sign the Englishman from his former side in the current window.

Wood made 26 Championship appearances for the Welsh outfit in 2023/24, missing a chunk of the campaign due to a back injury.