12th. Southampton
Southampton spent good money last summer,
most notably £12 million on Gaston Ramirez, and theyve spent again this summer. Theyve bought
Victor Wanyama and
Dejan Lovren for over £20 million combined. Its clear that the relatively new owners have a long-term project and vision. That was shown when they ruthlessly
sacked Nigel Adkins and replaced him with Mauricio Pochettino; their own man they wanted to spearhead this project. I think Southampton would have still survived last season if Nigel Adkins had stayed in charge for the whole season but the owners were impatient and wanted their man in. Despite this impatience, I dont think Southampton are rushing their vision through. Theyve improved again this summer with two new signings but they dont look in a rush to spend too much more. Theyve seen what happened at QPR which has shown that you cannot completely change everything overnight. Clearly, I think Southampton will survive comfortably but theyre the last of the teams on the list that I can believe may get relegated. Although I think theyll be fine, I could foresee a scenario where them, and the seven teams Ive placed below them, could be relegated. If I was Southampton I would be looking at signing an out-and-out winger and a striker. At the moment, Jason Puncheon is the only natural wide man in the Southampton squad. And up front, they have Rodriguez, Mayuka and Lambert to choose from. Rickie Lambert scored 15 league goals last season which was a brilliant tally for his debut season in the Premier League but Im not sure if he will be able to replicate that again this season. Grant Holt also scored 15 league goals in his first season in the Premier League two years ago but last season he barely scored half of that, registering eight goals. So signing another striker might be an option for the Saints. Key player: Rickie Lambert Transfers in so far:
Victor Wanyama from Celtic for £12.5 million.
Dejan Lovren from Lyon for £8.5 million. Possible team to face West Brom in their first fixture: GK: Boruc RB: Clyne LB: Shaw CB: Lovren CB: Yoshida DM: Wanyama CM: Schneiderlin AM: Lallana RW: Ramirez LW: Rodriguez ST: Lambert