Southampton squad 2021/22: Full team for new Premier League season
Can the Saints march on after a concerning end to the previous campaign?
Remember when Southampton sat top of the Premier League? It was only nine months ago, but you could be forgiven for having forgotten.
If you have, it's probably because the Saints went and found themselves on the wrong end of a 9-0 demolition against Manchester United at Old Trafford in February - less than an 18 months on from Leicester inflicting the same misery at St Mary's.
Finishing 15th may have been an underwhelming end to a season that had begun so promisingly - and Ralph Hasenhuttl's side lost 12 of their last 19 games - but it could have been so much worse.
Still, a good start to new campaign is a must if the Saints are to ensure they don't get sucked into a relegation battle, having found themselves on the fringes of it in 2020/21.
Optimism will have been dampened by the departure of Danny Ings, who signed for Aston Villa in the kind of 'Where on earth did that come from?!' transfer rarely seen these days - although Southampton have moved quickly to replace their primary source of goals, bringing in Adam Armstrong off the back of a prolific season for Blackburn Rovers in the Championship.
They've also added Albania international Armando Broja on loan from Chelsea, as well as bringing Theo Walcott back to his boyhood club on a permanent basis following his loan spell from Everton.
The coast isn't clear for the Saints yet. They'll need to plug that gap and fast; three consecutive seasons with 9-0 defeats would just be ridiculous...
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Goalkeepers: Alex McCarthy, Harry Lewis, Fraser Forster
Defenders: Kyle Walker-Peters, Lyanco, Jack Stephens, Mohammed Salisu, Jan Bednarek, Yan Valery, Romain Peraud, Valentino Livramento, Thierry Small
Midfielders: Oriol Romeu, James Ward-Prowse, Nathan Redmond, Moussa Djenepo, Stuart Armstrong, Will Smallbone, Nathan Tella, Ibrahima Diallo, Mohamed Elyounoussi
Forwards: Che Adams, Michael Obafemi, Shane Long, Theo Walcott, Armando Broja, Adam Armstrong
Restock your kit bag with the best deals for footballers on Amazon right now
PREMIER LEAGUE Everything you need to know for the 2021/22 season
FPL Tips and tricks for FPL this season
FIFA 22 Pre-order now - plus release date, cover, trailer and new features
FourFourTwo was launched in 1994 on the back of a World Cup that England hadn’t even qualified for. It was an act of madness… but it somehow worked out. Our mission is to offer our intelligent, international audience access to the game’s biggest names, insightful analysis... and a bit of a giggle. We unashamedly love this game and we hope that our coverage reflects that.