da fezbet： Southampton’s recruitment has been questionable over the last few seasons, seeing star players leave and a failure to replace them subsequently halting their progression as a Premier League team.
da apostaganha： The Saints started this season’s recruitment well, signing the likes of Armel Bella-Kotchap in the summer who has been formidable for the south-coast side as well as capturing Carlos Alcaraz in January, however some additions have left fans wondering why the transfers ever happened.
The Saints secured Ebere Onuachu from KRC Genk for £18.5m, the price tag wasn’t alarming considering the 6 foot 7 forward found the net 16 times in 19 games earlier this season in Belgium, yet since arriving in the Premier League, the colossal striker has failed to score or assist in his opening nine appearances.
Underperforming signings are far from what Southampton needed in the winter transfer window, but things just aren’t ticking for some of the new arrivals with not even a spark of hope for brighter days from some.
A stand-out disappointment has been the January signing of Mislav Orsic from Dinamo Zagreb, who was purchased to be a “significant addition” to the struggling Southampton squad, however the Croatian has been the total opposite since arriving.
How much has the Orsic transfer cost Southampton?
When Orsic arrived on the south-coast, many were excited by the prospect of having a World Cup performer choosing to play for the Saints when times were particularly tough. The 30-year-old made six appearances in Qatar on the greatest stage of them all, and even scored the winner in the third-place playoffs against Morocco to earn a bronze medal for his country.
The £8m transfer was an appealing one in January, however by April, we are yet to see even a glimpse of the attacker, playing just six minutes since his arrival for Southampton. To make matters more alarming, the winger has not even been named in the squad for 10 out of 14 games that Saints have played since his arrival.
Considering Ruben Selles’ team’s form and league position, it’s a confusing saga as to why Orsic is yet to really feature. Speaking ahead of his side’s crucial bottom-of-the-table scrap with rivals AFC Bournemouth on Thursday, the interim boss admitted that it has been his “decision not to play” the 30-year-old, despite him “working really well”.
The Croatian has featured for Southampton’s B team, with little explanation from the player or the club as to what isn’t working for the play-maker.
While this is happening, the Saints are paying Orsic an eye-watering £79k-per-week, listing him as the second-highest earner at the club behind star-man James Ward-Prowse. This equates to £4.1m-per-year in wages, which have so far cost the club a price of around £1.26m in the near 16 weeks he has been at St Mary's Stadium.
That all simmers down to just six minutes of play in the Premier League and 192 minutes across his five appearances in all competitions, meaning the former Dinamo Zagreb dynamo has cost owners Sport Republic around £482k per minute and £1.85m per outing.
There is one thing with a player getting game time and simply not adapting, but Orsic has not featured enough to even rack up statistics to take away from his stay in Southampton so far.
Who knows what the future will hold for the "flop of the season" – in the eyes of podcaster Martin Sanders – but his future surely won’t be extensive on the south-coast should things continue.