Southampton

Southampton boss Tonda Eckert spoke to BBC Radio Solent after beating Stoke City at St Mary's.

For a written selection of his quotes, click here.

Image source, Getty Images

Tonda Eckert says Aston Villa target Taylor Harwood-Bellis is one of the best defenders in the country and is dealing with transfer speculation professionally.

The 24-year-old joined Saints from Manchester City in 2023, initially on loan with a clause to make the move permanent, and won an England cap in the Nations League game against the Republic of Ireland in 2024.

After seeing-off interest from Benfica, Southampton rejected a Villa bid worth more than £18m this week and are believed to want around £25m for the player, whom they signed for £20m two years ago.

Speaking before Saturday's Championship visit of Stoke, Saints head coach Eckert told BBC Radio Solent: "We know how important Taylor is for us. I think he's been the best centre-back in the Championship last season.

"It's completely normal that if you are among the best centre-backs in the country there is interest, and there has been.

"He's always dealt with it in a great way, very professional, but he's a Southampton player.

"In the end my job is to train the players. There are some decisions for the board and owners to take."

Eckert said he was happy to start Harwood-Bellis on Saturday, given his focused performance amid speculation towards the end of the January transfer window.

He said: "On 31 January, before we went to Stoke, there was heavy interest for him and he played one of the best games for us."

Image source, Getty Images

Colchester United have signed Southampton midfielder Moses Sesay on a season-long loan.

The 19-year-old, who joined the Saints academy from Chelsea last year, has played for England at Under-18 level.

Sesay is yet to make a league appearance for his parent club, but made one substitute appearance in last season's EFL Cup.

"Moses is a very gifted player with the ball. He can really speed up the game." U's boss Danny Cowley told BBC Essex.

"He's been involved with England. It's his first loan, so he's going to need time to adapt, but he's got some really good attributes. We're looking forward to working with him."

Image source, Getty Images

After a disappointing opening to their season against Watford on Sunday and a potential exit for defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis, some Saints fans are starting to worry about the defensive capabilities of their side.

But for BBC Radio Solent's Adam Blackmore, it's the work needed up front that could decide their promotion chances.

"Sunday could have been a blip but they do need to have more firepower if they are going to go up automatically," Blackmore said.

"There is no doubt now that Cyle Larin, rather than being in rotation, comes into the season fitter than when he arrived in January and could be, if he stays fit, the lead striker in every league game. But that's a lot to ask of anyone.

"I personally think they should try and get more experience in up front to go alongside Larin and use [Divin] Mubama as a floating piece."

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Bolton won on their return to the Championship, but how can they compete with their big-spending rivals?

Listen to the newest episode of the 72+ podcast as Aaron Paul and Jobi McAnuff are joined by Bolton manager Steven Schumacher to break down the opening weekend of league fixtures in the EFL.

The panel also discuss Will Lankshear's dream start at Middlesbrough, how Southampton will deal with being pantomime villains after Spygate and whether VAR is needed in the Championship after a blatant handball helped West Bromwich Albion beat Norwich.

Plus, Jack Wilshere joins the pod after his Luton side came from 3-1 down to beat Reading in their opener, and he talks about his first pre-season as a first-team boss.

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These two sides are hoping to bounce back from defeats on the opening weekend of the Championship season - both losing 2-1.

Stoke managed only 22 points away from home last season while Southampton's home record was only bettered by the promoted duo of Coventry City and Ipswich Town.

• Southampton won 2-0 away against Stoke in their most recent league meeting in January but have not won back-to-back league games against the Potters since October 2006.

• Stoke City are unbeaten in each of their past five away league games against Saints (W4 D1); among 2026-27 Championship opponents, the Potters are only on a longer unbeaten streak away to West Ham United (6).

• Southampton have won their first home game in just one of their past 14 league campaigns (D8 L5 since 2012-13), though it did come last season, scoring twice late on to beat Wrexham 2-1.

• Stoke City lost each of their final seven away league games last season, last having a longer losing streak on the road in the Football League between August and November 2003 under Tony Pulis (8).

• After losing to Swansea, Stoke will be hoping to avoid losing their opening two games of a league campaign for just the third time this century, after 2010-11 and 2019-20.

Glen de la Cour
Southampton FC fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

After all the summer talk in various media outlets about the negative effect that Spygate was going to have on Southampton's season, it was nice to actually start the Championship campaign, hopefully win the first game, and give everybody something else to talk about.

However, this is Southampton on the opening day. To many, it may have been a surprise that we lost to Watford, but look at our opening‑day record down the years and it's not a surprise at all.

Since 1990, Saints have played 37 opening day games, won only five, drawn 14, and lost 18 - a truly abysmal record. Two of the wins were in the past two Championship seasons when we squeaked over the line with 96th‑minute winners.

The Watford defeat, though disappointing, should not distract from what should be a positive season once we get going. A couple of pieces are missing at the moment, but there are still a couple of weeks of the transfer window to address that.

A midfielder to replace the departed Shea Charles and a central defender - hopefully to partner Taylor Harwood‑Bellis rather than replace him - remain priorities.

It was, however, a bad defeat, given that Watford ended last season as the most out‑of‑form side in the division, and we should have hit the ground running, bearing in mind our team was virtually unchanged from the one that finished 2025-26 with a 21-game unbeaten league run.

Complacency? Perhaps. A soft pre‑season? Perhaps. But if two of your most experienced players give goals away, leaving you a mountain to climb, it's going to be a long afternoon. Watford deserved the win - no question.

The expectation for Saints is still to get promoted at the end of the season and defeat in the first game out of 46 does not change that - nor does the four‑point deduction. Our Championship rivals can enjoy seeing us adrift at the bottom for now; I advise them to make the most of it.

Glen is part of the Total Saints podcast team, external

Burnley and Southampton have moved ahead of Sheffield United in the race for £4m rated Bosnian defender Anel Ahmedhodzic, 27, who joined Feyenoord from the Blades last summer. (The Star, external)

Saints and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, 24, is a target for Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb. (Daily Echo, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Wednesday's gossip column here.

Adam Blackmore
BBC Radio Solent

Image source, PA Media

On Sunday, I felt flattened by Southampton's defeat at Watford.

When recording Goin' Home With Adam and Jo on the way back, Jo Tessem and I could hardly raise our spirits and delivered a thoroughly miserable half-hour.

Since then I have been reflecting on how the game unfolded at Vicarage Road and whether we were overreacting on Sunday.

Should we have said "well, it's only the first game" and "it's early in the season, they will get better"? As I write this, the answer is still no.

Saints have set very high standards under Tonda Eckert and we all expected that they would hit their stride early and swat Watford aside. It never happened.

The reason I am not dismissing the loss as "one of those games" is because Saints have publicly stated they want automatic promotion and they had nearly all of last season's best side on the pitch.

When you state your lofty ambitions, you have to back it up on the pitch. They were miles off the standards they set in the second half of last season.

Over the past five seasons, the average number of defeats suffered by the sides going up to the Premier League automatically is seven.

Currently on -4 points, they are seven points down after one game and their room for error is smaller than others in the race.

I respect Eckert for defending his side after the game like managers should, but it was a push defending their first-half performance on Sunday.

They were poor and the worrying thing was the manner of the performance and the way they conceded.

There were other occasions where Saints were left wanting out of position as Watford's forwards found themselves running freely at a back four, with too many Southampton players not getting back to help quick enough. Why?

I am reluctant to ever suggest fitness as a factor for highly-trained athletes, so what was it?

My biggest nagging worry is that while the expulsion from the play-off final in May has become a galvanising factor for fans and players alike, is there a quietly bigger impact on that let-down for the players in the back of their minds?

Has it punctured their resolve slightly knowing they have got to go uphill again for nine months to get where they want to be? Will bad moments and defeats be magnified, create doubt and test willpower?

Players love a manager who makes them better and plots their path to victories, and Eckert has done a job that nobody thought when he was appointed.

But having forgiven him for costing them a chance of the Premier League, would players doubt him and give him short shrift if they get things so wrong again?

While he is masterminding wins, it is great, but do we think playing Leo Scienza at 10 and moving Lewis Dobbin out left on Sunday after spending all pre-season the other way around made them feel good?

Eckert defended it, but Tessem was right - playing Scienza in behind took away his best weapon and his biggest threat. They were so much better when he moved out wide again and Finn Azaz came on.

Southampton fans have been incredibly resilient in the wake of this tumultuous summer and many have decided to get behind Tonda once he was backed by chairman Dragan Solak.

Good, the club needs to move forward, but I have seen enough football to know that players and fans will be the first to remember 'Spygate' if Saints keep performing like they did at Watford, and those supporters who still feel the head coach should have been sacked will have their voice again.

Hopefully all my worries are just that and they turn up for the first home game against Stoke City on Saturday, show their class and win.

They need to, and Eckert needs them to.

Southampton's first Championship game since the Spygate scandal ended in a 2-1 loss at Watford on Sunday.

Canadian striker Cyle Larin pulled a goal back for the Saints in the second period but they could not find an equaliser.

We asked for Southampton fans to send us their views on the performance and result and here is what some of them had to say:

Steve - Ineffective sideways and backwards keep-possession play instead of positive attacking play. When are Saints going to learn?

George - Started well but then could not hold them off. Both goals should have been stopped. Jack Stephens has to look at himself for both goals. Much better second half but we still need a top striker. I wish Tonda Eckert would give Edozie a better run as he is very skilful.

Andy - Put the players in their natural position - when Scienza was on the wing we looked a far better team in the second half. Let's put the first game behind us and March On.

Jon - Our captain Jack Stephens lost us the game. He gave the ball away for their first goal, and ran parallel with their attacker for their second goal rather than closing him down. Dobbin is too lightweight. He did not go into tackles, he just hoped the defender would stand off.

Colin - Honestly I thought we looked completely lost in this game as if we had just found 11 players who had not played together before. Credit to Watford, they never let us settle and when we looked like we could have got going they out-muscled us everywhere.

Paul - Southampton have a lot to do to get back to how they ended last season. It would help if the FA pulled their finger out on making a decision on Tonda Eckert and the media stopped raking up the past.

Frank - Saints were careless in the first half and paid the price. Watford wanted it more although some of their tackles were a bit over the top - hence the six yellow cards for their team.

Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert spoke to BBC Radio Solent after his side's 2-1 defeat at Watford.

"I think we had a very good start in the game. We made a mistake in possession, they scored off the first occasion, and these games take a different dynamic," he said.

"The reaction was very positive; if you look at 90 minutes, we didn't get the result that we wanted - that's clear - but there were more than enough moments to turn the game around.

"Overall, a disappointing result today, but we now go on to three home games in a row and we need to make sure we pick up points."

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Southampton have rejected a £17.1m offer from Benfica for defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis.

The one-cap England international, 24, is valued significantly higher by the Championship club, who dismissed the bid without entering into further negotiations.

Benfica's new manager, Marco Silva, is also interested in Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo. However, the 28-year-old is understood to have at least one option in France and another in the Premier League.

Harwood-Bellis has been at Southampton since 2023 after which his initial loan move from Manchester City was made permanent for £20m.

His current contract with the Saints expires in 2028.

Southampton begin their Championship campaign on Sunday with a trip to Watford, having been controversially thrown out of last season's play-offs through a spying scandal in the semi-final with Middlesbrough.

Watford host Southampton on Sunday (13:30 BST) as they return to the Championship after their dramatic seasons last time out.

The Hornets saw three different managers at Vicarage Road last season and they have a brand new one to introduce on the weekend as Alessio Dionisi makes his debut in the English Football League.

While Saints will want to show they haven't been rattled following their expulsion from the play-offs after 'Spygate', external.

• Watford have won just one of their last 14 meetings with Southampton in all competitions (D6 L7); a 2-1 away win in the Premier League in March 2022 (D3 L3 since).

• Southampton are unbeaten in their last 10 away league games against Watford (W4 D6), drawing each of their previous two visits since a 1-0 win in the Premier League in October 2021.

• Watford lost their final five Championship games last season by an aggregate score of 1-16; the Hornets last lost six in a row outside the top-flight in February 1973 (9).

• Southampton ended last season unbeaten in their final 19 league games (W14 D5), only once previously have they gone 20+ league games unbeaten, doing so in February 2024 (22).

• Despite only playing 1,800 minutes in the Championship last season (excluding play-offs), only Radek Vítek (8.5) and Carl Rushworth (8.1) prevented more goals based on Opta's expected goals model than Southampton's Daniel Peretz (7.1), conceding 18 goals (excluding own goals) from an xGOT conceded total of 25.1.

Image source, Getty Images

Could Manchester City striker Divin Mubama's loan spell at Southampton be just what he needs to make the step up to being a true first-team player?

The 21-year-old was ever-present in Stoke City's matchday squad last season, but a serious leg injury in January meant he made only one further Championship appearance for the club.

He will be hoping to play a bigger role during his time at St Mary's and BBC Radio Solent's Adam Blackmore feels it could be reminiscent of recently departed Saints midfielder Shea Charles' time at Sheffield Wednesday.

Charles, who also came up through City's academy, played 44 games for the Owls during his breakthrough season on loan from the Saints.

"This season for Mubama needs to be that season for Shea Charles," Blackmore said.

"It needs to be the time that he grows up, steps up, handles men's football. If he gets it right, he's got bags of talent, so I think it's a good gamble from Saints."

Listen to the full analysis below or on BBC Sounds here.

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Southampton and one-time England defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis, 24, is a target for Portuguese giants Benfica. (Daily Mail, external)

Derby remain keen on bringing 27-year-old Chile international Ben Brereton Diaz back to Pride Park from the Saints. (John Percy, external)

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Thursday's gossip column here.

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