Southampton chiefs confirm striker is a transfer priority and address controversial Spygate

Southampton chiefs have confirmed that signing a striker is a priority before the transfer window closes, while head coach Tonda Eckert has reflected on the controversial Spygate saga that overshadowed the club’s end to last season.

The Saints were removed from the Championship play-off final last season following the spying controversy, but they are now focused on securing promotion back to the Premier League.

Southampton have managed to retain most of their key players while bringing in four new additions this summer. However, sporting director Johannes Spors has confirmed that further recruitment is planned, with a new striker firmly at the top of the club’s wishlist.

Spors said: “You want me to announce something? What I can announce, basically, is that we’re really looking to this position. This is for sure.

“We will do something on the striker position.”

The Southampton sporting director admitted that the club are not necessarily short of options elsewhere, but suggested the size of the squad means any further business will depend partly on departures and opportunities that emerge in the market.

“I don’t think we have a specific position where we are having a big lack. We know the squad is a little big,” Spors continued.

“The striker position is really obvious and then I think it’s to react on the market.

“So if we do sell a player, we need a new replacement. But also, we are always in the market for opportunities. Sometimes something comes on the table that you did not see coming a week earlier.

“So it’s more that you’re on the market and then to really react when replacing players.”

Southampton will begin their Championship campaign with a four-point deduction as punishment for the spying scandal that resulted in their expulsion from last season’s play-offs.

Eckert admitted that he was grateful to remain in his position after the controversy and acknowledged that the club’s ownership would have been justified in taking a different course of action.

“I think that with a situation like we were in at the end of our season,” Eckert reflected. “The ownership has every right to take consequences. I think at that point, it would have been right for me to accept it if the consequence was to go in a different direction.

“That means a lot to me that the owner didn’t get swayed by the public opinion but had a look at what actually happened and then has taken his decision. I’m really grateful for that.”