Southampton head coach Russell Martin has admitted that the club won’t be able to keep hold of Kyle Walker-Peters this summer if they fail to earn promotion back to the Premier League.
After a tricky run of form in February and March, the Saints have managed to claw themselves back into the race for automatic promotion, aided largely by the top three teams suffering major blips in recent weeks.
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Martin’s men are currently sitting in fourth place in the Championship, six points behind Leeds United, with two games in hand on the Whites. Furthermore, both teams meet on the final day of the season at Elland Road in what could be a decisive match in the race for promotion.
Failing to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking would be massively disappointing for Southampton but could also damage the club financially as their parachute payments will be greatly reduced ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
As a result, the board may look to ship some expensive assets out of the club this summer to offset any losses. One man who could be on his way out of the St. Mary’s Stadium is right-back Kyle Walker-Peters. The fullback has been with the Saints since 2020 and was recently named in the EFL Championship Team of the Season, the only Southampton player to do so.
Nevertheless, head coach Martin stated that he expects the 27-year-old to leave the club in the summer if his side fail to earn promotion back to the top-flight [quotes via the Daily Echo]:
“I think if we get promoted it becomes a lot easier to keep him,” he said.
“If we don’t, we won’t keep hold of Kyle. There’s no point in pretending otherwise really, financially for the club and Kyle’s ambitions as well.
“Kyle was great, he didn’t kick up one fuss this summer. There was a bit of interest but not enough to tempt him or the club into him leaving.”
Writer’s View
Walker-Peters still has one year remaining on his contract but his market price has depreciated in value. The former Tottenham Hotspur defender boasted a £21 million value at the beginning of the campaign, which has now been reduced to £17 million, as per Transfermarkt.
The fullback is one of the most valuable players that Southampton have right now. Failure to clinch promotion back to the promised land means he’ll certainly be one of the first names out the door.
