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Southampton have arguably been the success story of recent years in the Premier League, the surprise package who many were convinced would struggle to eventual relegation. Rather than flirt with the relegation spots, The Saints actually had an on/off relationship with the Champions League spots.

Ronald Koeman’s arrival on the South Coast 12 months ago was met with a raft of departures from the same venue. Lallana, Chambers and Lambert all left St Mary’s whilst it appeared Morgan Schneiderlin was waiting in the departure lounge with a boarding pass neatly tucked under his Tottenham branded blazer.

But alas, Schneiderlin stayed and the critics were confounded.

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The Saints would eventually finish only two points off European football and may have heightened expectations to levels that will be difficult to match. So with Koeman about to enter the dreaded ‘second season syndrome’, what can Southampton truly expect to achieve next term?

Southampton’s season arguably finished at the right time, it was clear to see their exploits were beginning to take their toll and their end of season form, bar the obliteration of Aston Villa, was disappointing; picking up only one victory in the last six games.

Whether they simply switched off as they had already achieved what they could only dream of pre-season is unknown, but they certainly were a less daunting prospect to opposition in the closing weeks of the season.

This summer will again test the resolve and the ambition of the decision makers at St Mary’s, it is clear that some of their players will have again attracted the interests of more ‘desirable’ destinations. They must stay stronger in the face of such advances, if Southampton are to establish themselves as a long term member of the upper echelons of the country’s top tier, they must retain the core of this squad.

However, if last summer is anything to go by, fans of Koeman’s men should not hold their breath; they are a club ran sensibly and the long term future of the club will surely be preserved, this could mean once again they are decimated by departures.

This season Southampton were an unknown quantity and for much of the early season were under rated and respected. They caught many teams by surprise, they should expect no such allowances next year and their card will now be marked. Next year may prove to be a wholly different challenge for Koeman and his troops; no longer will they be given the freedom of the green grass of every pitch they play on.

This campaign has been a journey that few anticipated and even fewer expected to last season long. However, next season may prove to be an even tougher assignment for Southampton. But from the dark skies that were overhead last year, the struggles they may face could prove to be a great deal more trivial than many expected them to encounter this term.

This year has been like a holiday for Southampton, sitting at the top table at Monte Carlo, next year will be the true indicator of whether that trip was a long weekend or a more permanent excursion.

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Back in early April the Daily Star claimed Manchester United had won the race for highly-rated Brazilian wonderkid Roberto Firmino.

But today Liverpool officially announced that they’d signed the 23-year-old, subject to a medical. The Daily Star are now reporting Liverpool paid Bundesliga side Hoffenheim an eye-watering £29million to bring him to Anfield.

Firmino’s arrival is the fifth signing Liverpool have made already this summer, with James Milner, Danny Ings, Adam Bogdan and Joe Gomez also joining the Anfield ranks ahead of next season.

The real question on everyone’s lips at the moment is whether Firmino is the man to add the extra bit of bite in the Reds’ attack, which has been missing since Luis Suarez’s departure to Barcelona last summer.

Will Manchester United regret not signing him when they had the chance? Will Liverpool benefit greatly from the Brazilian?

We booted up our copy of Football Manager to find out, and the results will have United fans with heads in hands, and Liverpool fans jumping with joy. Here’s how it went down…

Brendan Rodgers didn’t do much more business after signing Firmino. He did bring in defender Dede from Cruzeiro for £8.5m and midfielder Josh Brownhill from Preston for £775k, who he loaned straight out to Newcastle for the season.

Liverpool got off to a pretty weird start to the Premier League season, winning two of their opening six games – against Manchester City and Arsenal. But they also drew two and lost two in that period, losing to West Ham and Leicester and drawing with Bournemouth and Leicester.

Firmino scored three goals during that opening sequence of fixtures and immediately showed signs of becoming a very important player for Rodgers’ side.

The Reds followed up a dodgy start to the campaign with a run of nine games unbeaten (W7, D2) before not winning a game in their final four games of the calendar year (D2, L2).

After the New Year it was business as usual for Rodgers’ men and they remained unbeaten until late March when Man United arrived at Anfield to end Liverpool’s 11 match run without loss with a 2-1 victory.

Firmino, though, was making all the difference for Rodgers’ side, netting seven Premier League goals during that brilliant run of results. It was a run that had Liverpool well and truly in the race for the title, but the loss to Man United handed the initiative to their arch rivals Man City.

Up to this point Man United had been struggling after winning just two of their previous eight league fixtures. It was a period in the season that resulted in them losing their top four status for the second time in three seasons.

Liverpool, on the other hand, reacted well to that loss to United and went on another run of six matches unbeaten. That included 4-0 win over rivals Everton at Goodison Park on the same day league leaders Man City slipped up against Norwich.

The title race went to the wire with City boasting a three point lead over Liverpool on the final day, though Liverpool had a slightly better goal difference. But while Man City comfortably brushed aside West Ham with a 3-0 win, Liverpool lost 3-2 at home to Norwich.

City won the league by six points in the end, but Liverpool fans were generally delighted with how the season went. Man United finished fifth and a huge 12 points behind fourth placed Chelsea. Louis Van Gaal was promptly sacked.

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Firmino ultimately has the last laugh as he ends the campaign as Liverpool’s top scorer with 19 goals in all competitions…

And his overall stats were pretty good, netting a goal every 216 minutes and hitting the target 39% of the time with his efforts on goal.

So on the basis of this experiment Man United will have regretted not signing Firmino. They instead kept hold of Robin van Persie, who ended the season as the club’s top scorer with 15 goals.

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Anthony Martial is not expected to be involved in Manchester United’s Premier League clash with Southampton at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.

The Frenchman, who is valued at £31.5m by transfermarkt.co.uk, missed United’s Boxing Day clash with Burnley – which finished 2-2 – but was pictured in training on Thursday ahead of the clash with Southampton.

United boss Jose Mourinho, however, claimed that none of his injured players from the last match would return this weekend.

As a result, Chris Smalling and Antonio Valencia will again be absent, whilst Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick and Eric Bailly will remain on the sidelines for the Red Devils.

United will enter this weekend’s match off the back of successive draws in the Premier League, which has seen them drop 15 points off league leaders Manchester City.

Mourinho, speaking at his pre-match press conference, also revealed that he wants to give leading scorer Romelu Lukaku a rest, but admitted that will not happen against Southampton.

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According to reports in the Daily Mail, Tottenham Hotspur aren’t pursuing a deal for out of favour Paris Saint-Germain attacker Lucas Moura, who has been capped 35 times by Brazil, before the January transfer window slams shut.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Daily Mail says that reports from France that Spurs were in talks over a loan deal with a view to a permanent move for the lightning-quick winger are not true, despite the fact that the Brazilian attacker has been offered to a number of Premier League clubs.

The Daily Mail reports that there have in fact been no discussions between the two clubs about the 25-year-old, who looks destined to leave the Ligue 1 leaders before the end of the month.

The report adds that Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino already has the maximum quota of foreign players (17) in his Champions League squad already, and he would have sacrifice one of those if he did sign Moura or anyone else prior to the next registration deadline.

How has Lucas Moura done this season?

It has been a hugely disappointing campaign for the 25-year-old.

Despite scoring 19 goals and providing a further 11 assists in 53 appearances in all competitions for PSG last term, he has been restricted to just six substitute outings in total so far this season – with one goal and one assist in those – following the summer additions of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

Why don’t Tottenham want him?

While the Champions League registration issue could have affected Mauricio Pochettino’s thinking, the fact that the Brazilian is an out-and-out winger and Spurs don’t really play a system that incorporates one of those may have been a bigger problem.

The 25-year-old would likely have to play in a more central role, or even as a wing-back, if he did join the north London outfit, and Pochettino obviously feels that the deal wouldn’t be right for the club or the player.

Tottenham have been heavily linked with Bordeaux’s Malcom in recent weeks, and he could be their preferred target over Lucas Moura.

What’s the verdict, then?

While Tottenham aren’t interested now, they could look at the situation again in the summer if they don’t get Malcon and the Brazilian is still at PSG then, as he will only have a year left on his contract.

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As reported by The Daily Record, Rangers defender James Tavernier has shut down reports he could be leaving the club this January and has reiterated his desire to win trophies at Ibrox.

What’s the story?

The paper say that he’s been a target for the likes of Sunderland and Reading this month, leading to speculation that he could be leaving Glasgow two-and-a-half years after joining from Newcastle United.

However, the player has been quick to point out he sees his future at Ibrox in what will be a big boost to Graeme Murty and the club’s supporters.

As quoted by The Daily Record, the English full-back said:

I don’t like to get into speculation about my deal. I’m still under contract for another 18 months so I’m really happy here. It’s totally down to the club if they want to extend it. I’ll have to wait and see. However, I’m fully committed to Rangers. I’m still learning here and I’m still growing here. I came here to win trophies. Also, in all the Old Firm games I’ve played, I’ve only been on the winning side once so far. I want to win some more of them. I still have unfinished business as a Rangers player.

Those are words that are likely to go down well with Rangers supporters.

Can the player and his club show Celtic they mean business in the second half of the season?

Rangers revival

What Rangers fans crave most of all is major silverware, something that haven’t managed to achieve over the last few years. In the long-term, it’s only through retaining talents like James Tavernier that this is going to be possible.

The Ibrox side have made some shrewd moves in the January transfer window, but just as important is sorting out the contract situations of established stars.

Danny Wilson is set to leave the club with just six months left on his deal and other players’ contracts run out this summer too.

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Tavernier is clearly committed to the Rangers cause and the club should reciprocate and leave him in no doubt he is wanted at Ibrox by handing him a new contract.

Newcastle United have been a regular feature in the transfer gossip pages this month as they appear to be in the hunt for a new striker.

In 24 Premier League games, Rafael Benitez’s side have managed to score just 22 times.

The manager has kept faith with Joselu and Dwight Gayle, but the pair have only found the back of the net four and three times respectively.

Numerous attacking stars have been linked with a move to St James’ Park, the most recent of which being Nicolai Jorgensen from Feyenoord.

So far, the club have been struggling to get a deal over the line and Sky Sports claims that the North-East outfit recently had a £15m bid rejected by the Dutch outfit.

Now, The Mirror reports that Newcastle are looking a little closer to home by considering a move for Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho.

The Nigerian international had a slow start to his career at the Foxes following his summer switch from Manchester City, but in his last two outings – both in the FA Cup – the forward has scored four times.

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After news emerged of Newcastle’s reported interest in the 21-year-old, fans gave their reactions on Twitter.

Former Newcastle United defender Daryl Janmaat starred in Watford’s brilliant 4-1 win against the Premier League holders Chelsea at Vicarage Road on Monday night, and Magpies fans were all left saying the same thing about their ex-man.

The 28-year-old scored his third goal in 13 top flight appearances this season in a more advanced role on the right-hand side, cutting in from the wing, playing a one-two with Roberto Pereyra before beating another couple of Blues players and then producing an impressive finish with his left foot.

The Netherlands international now has more goals in 43 matches for the Hornets than he did in 77 outings for the Toon, and his performance against Antonio Conte’s men certainly left the St James’ Park faithful confused about why he never showed the same quality for them.

Newcastle supporters were quick to have their say on the Dutchman’s display via social media, and while one said “pretty sure Janmaat never did anything close to that for Newcastle”, another questioned “when did Janmaat ever do anything like that for us?”

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Southampton advanced to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup as they beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1 at the Hawthorns on Saturday, but Saints fans are still struggling to see much progress being made on the pitch under manager Mauricio Pellegrino.

The south coast outfit picked up their first Premier League win since November when they also beat the Baggies in the west Midlands earlier this month – this time by a 3-2 scoreline – to move themselves out of the relegation zone in the top flight.

However, a 2-0 defeat at home to Liverpool plunged them back into the bottom three and increased the pressure on Pellegrino, who is still struggling to win over the St Mary’s faithful despite goals from Wesley Hoedt and Dusan Tadic giving them a victory on Saturday.

Southampton supporters have been speaking about their team’s situation via social media, and while one said “it’s like watching Burnley without the long ball”, another said “I have no idea what Pellegrino is trying to do”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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According to reports in The Mirror, Everton are interested in signing £25m-rated West Bromwich Albion defender Jonny Evans in the summer, although he could be available for as little as £3m.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Mirror says that the 30-year-old has a clause in his Baggies contract that will allow him to leave for just £3m if the west Midlands outfit suffer relegation to the Championship.

That is certainly on the cards right now as Alan Pardew’s side lie seven points from safety with just 10 Premier League matches left to play this term.

The Mirror says that Sam Allardyce is keen to bring the Northern Ireland international to Goodison Park if he is to stay in charge next season, although he could face competition for his signature from top flight rivals West Ham United and Leicester City, while Arsenal and Manchester City were also keen on the West Brom captain during the January transfer window.

How has Evans done this season?

The Baggies skipper missed their first three Premier League matches of the season – in which they picked up seven of the 20 points they currently have – and the club and the versatile defender went 19 games without tasting success before they beat Brighton and Hove Albion in January.

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Evans has played at both centre-back and left-back for the west Midlands outfit during the current campaign, but he was also involved in the incident during a mid-season training break in Barcelona where he and three of his teammates stole a taxi, which saw him stripped of the captaincy for one game before he was reinstated into the role by manager Alan Pardew.

Would he be a good signing for Everton?

He certainly could be, yes.

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Evans would arrive at Goodison Park with plenty of experience and quality, and his leadership skills would come in handy in a Toffees backline that has struggled in particular this season.

The 30-year-old is also a very good defender and is calm in possession, and the fact that he could cost just £3m should mean that he is a no-brainer target for the Merseyside outfit, whether Allardyce is in charge next term or not.

Newcastle United loan signing Kenedy scored two superb goals at St James’ Park on Saturday, inspiring the Magpies to a vital 3-0 win over fellow relegation battlers Southampton in the English Premier League.

The win moves Rafa Benitez’s side up to 13th in the table and eases worries about dropping down to the Championship, now five points clear of the relegation zone.

There’s work left to do to ensure safety, but the win against Saints was absolutely crucial.

Kenedy was the hero of the afternoon, finishing expertly twice in the opening 30 minutes to give his side a comfortable afternoon in front of a buoyant home support.

Fans are now calling on the club to make his loan move from Chelsea permanent, believing he adds something completely different to this Newcastle side.

Will we be seeing the Brazilian in black and white next season?

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Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts…

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