SOUTHAMPTON manager Ivan Jurić says he doesn’t blame the club’s board for not bringing in more new players in January.
It was a fairly quiet January transfer window for Saints, only bringing in two players: Victor Udoh on a three and a half year contract and Albert Grønbæk on loan for the rest of the season.
Brazilian defender Welington also arrived in January from São Paulo having signed a pre-contract to join last summer.
But Jurić believes that’s because the club isn’t attractive to outside players currently: “I’m a little bit disappointed the club didn’t bring more players in during the January window.
“I understand it was a really difficult situation for us because we are at the bottom of the table and maybe it’s easier for teams like Ipswich to convince players to sign.
“However, I think the club tried to bring me what I wanted but we just didn’t succeed.”
What can Southampton fans expect from the two new signings?
Loanee Albert Grønbæk has already made a promising debut for the south-coast side, featuring in their first away win of the season last weekend.
The midfielder arrived on loan from Ligue 1 club Rennes just over two weeks ago having scored only twice in 18 games for the French side.
His main position is a central midfielder and he specifically prefers playing in the number ‘8’ role, however at former clubs he has also played a more attacking role in midfield or even as a left winger.
The 23-year old is also a Danish international with six caps and one goal for his country.
However, it does not look like second signing Victor Udoh will be filtered straight in to the first team squad.
The 20-year-old forward seems to be ‘one for the future’ as the club said he will initially appear in the under-21s squad to continue his development.
The Nigerian has not scored a single goal at his former club Royal Antwerp or at any other of his previous clubs, so there isn’t much to look forward to from him by the looks of things.
Who left the south-coast in January?
There were a few notable departures from Southampton in the winter window, one being a slightly shocking move on deadline day.
Adam Armstrong has been loaned out to Championship side West Bromwich Albion for the remainder of the season.
He was Saints’ top scorer in their 23/24 second division campaign but did not hit the ground running on their return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
When asked about Armstrong’s departure Ivan Jurić said: “I want to say as big thank you to Adam Armstrong, he’s an incredible professional, a great guy and very positive.
“He explained to me why he wanted to leave, and he had good reasoning, I really hope he does well.
“We lost great player and a great guy, but its fair enough why he wanted to leave.”
Elsewhere promising youngster Sam Amo-Ameyaw also left on a permanent transfer to French outfit Strasbourg.
The 18-year-old has received a package that is estimated to be around €10 million when he joined the club in the summer.
However, he is only on loan at the Ligue 1 club for the remainder of then season, until he is allowed to leave St Marys permanently at the end of the 24/25 campaign.
Amo-Ameyaw thanked the club in a statement on his personal social media accounts, saying: “Thank you to the fans for believing in me the moment I first stepped on the pitch. I will never forget your support!
“To the staff and teammates, I wish you the best of luck moving forward with this club.”
Other players went out on loan last month include former first team goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu who has moved to Stard Liege, following a recent return to fitness after suffering a long term injury at the back end of last season.
Ben Brereton-Diaz was an early January outgoing, which made it seem that Saints were keen to shift out any dead-weight, considering the striker had not scored since arriving last summer.
And the final departure from Southampton was left-back Ronnie Edwards, who was another summer arrival.
He was not given much of a chance before he was eventually sent to Championship outfit Queens Park Rangers for the rest of the season.
