Southampton and their transfer dealings, it’s a tale as old as time. Southampton bring through some great younger players, find some bargains in Europe, have amazing seasons with them then sell them for a huge profit and begin again. This summer though not too much has occurred in regard to new players coming in which should make this Draft Fantasy Football team overview fairly easy.

Goalkeepers

Fraser Forster isn’t going anywhere for now and will be the first-choice keeper for Southampton again this season. At times, Forster didn’t seem to be at his best last season yet he still finished as the joint 4th highest scoring goalkeeper alongside Petr Cech.

Alex McCarthy will still be the preferred back up keeper for Southampton this season but unless an injury occurs, he’s not going to play.

Fraser Forster should be one of the first keepers to go again this season and if Southampton can strengthen their defence further, some more clean sheets should come his way. Go in early for Forster, I’d be surprised if he’s available later than the 6th round.

Defenders

I’d say there’s a good 95% chance that Virgil van Dijk is leaving Southampton this summer, he’s unhappy with what happened in regard to a potential transfer to Liverpool and he’s now training alone away from the first team, van Dijk is a great pick and will go early if he stays in the Premier League but let’s talk about Southampton players that will be plying their trade for the Saints this coming season.

Cédric Soares and Ryan Bertrand look to continue on as the full backs for Southampton, both players provide the chance for good points for your team in regard to clean sheets and assists, Bertrand may even pop up with the occasional goal, which is always beneficial.

If van Dijk does leave, it’s not going to be for cheap so expect some of the transfer money to go into buying a new centre back but until then, it’s looking like the centre back partnership will consist of Jack Stephens and Maya Yoshida, it was this partnership that Southampton finished with at the tail end of last season.

van Dijk would have/will be a high pick for a defender, with a chance of him going in about round 3 or 4 but we just don’t know at which team he’ll be playing next season, as for the Ryan Bertrand and Cédric Soares, I see them being further down the pickings possibly still available around rounds 8 or 9. Stephens and Yoshida, it’s harder to call, they could go earlier as they’ll be starters but they don’t scream high picks to me and I can see them being available in the later rounds.

Midfielders

There’s an argument that the Kante Rule could have easily been called the Romeu Rule. Oriel Romeu was the 3rd highest ranked player for successful tackles last season and he brings an imposing presence to toe Southampton midfield. He won’t get many if any, goals or assists but with the new rule in place, he could be a valuable pick up.

Sofiane Boufal promised us fantasy football managers so much and delivered very little, I don’t foresee that changing but if he’s available in the later rounds then he could be worth a gamble. Two players that won’t be available in the later rounds are Nathan Redmond and Dusan Tadic. Both Redmond and Tadic bring goals and assists to your team and should really be gone by the 8th round

Another player that we should see more of this season who does provide the occasional goal and assist but also benefit from the Kante Rule is James Ward-Prowse. It feels like Ward-Prowse has been up and coming for about 10 years now but with stronger performances at the tail end of last season, this could really be the season he becomes a breakout star.

Forwards

The January transfer window is getting more and more unpopular with managers with players values skyrocketing as it’s aware a team is desperate to strengthen but there are still good deals to be had and the £15mil that Southampton spent on Manolo Gabbiadini is proof of that. I was top of the waivers when he came in and blanked on grabbing him, a mistake I won’t want to make again as Gabbiadini hit the ground running, it’s a shame that he got hit with an injury. I expect Gabbiadini to go in the 2nd round, he starts, he scores and he provides assists.

Jay Rodriguez has now departed to West Brom which gives more minutes to Shane Long and Charlie Austin, both could easily push Gabbiadini for a place up-front unless Mauricio Pellegrino opts for two up front. If they play two at the top then Charlie Austin will be the logical choice to partner Gabbiadini but Shane Long isn’t exactly a bad option either.

As I stated above, I expect Gabbiadini to go in the 2nd round while Charlie Austin and Shane Long will be available a little later but not much later. Austin possibly picked up in the 3rd or 4th round with Long maybe around the 5th or 6th

Wildcard

I essentially gave my reasoning above but my wildcard pick-up for Southampton this season is James Ward-Prowse. I do believe that if he finally gets more game time this season, he could do great things for Southampton, which sadly means for Southampton that he’ll be sold to Liverpool in the summer of 2018 for £40mil but this season, I think he could be a great choice for your team.

Conclusion

There are some really good potential pickups in the Southampton team. Forster, Gabbiadini, Redmond, Tadic and Austin will be the top picks that go as they’ll be the most potent when it comes to scoring points this season. Expect potential surprises from Ward-Prowse, Romeu (with the Kante Rule enforced), Cédric Soares and Ryan Bertrand.