Southampton boss rues £128.5m deals with Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd

Ronald Koeman says Southampton must keep hold of key players

RONALD KOEMAN admits sale of key players could hurt Southampton's chances of finishing in the European places this season.

 

The Dutchman took charge in the summer of 2014 and saw a host of players, including Luke Shaw (Manchester United), Calum Chambers (Arsenal), Dejan Lovren and Adam Lallana (both Liverpool) move on.

Midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin and full-back Nathaniel Clyne were sold to United and Liverpool, respectively, before the start of this season.

And Koeman believes the transfers have hurt the Saints' hopes of repeating last campaign's feat of finishing seventh and qualifying for a Europa League play-off spot.

 

He said: "When I came to the club, I knew already that we would lose some good players, and we lost, after last season, Schneiderlin and Clyne, important players for the team.

"Of course, we would like to keep the best players because that means we can grow and grow. If not, we need to spend money, and we don't spend a lot of money."

He added: "After the last transfer window there was one team in the Premier League who got money out of the transfer window, and that was Southampton.

 

Nathaniel Clyne left Southampton for Liverpool in the summer

 



Morgan Schneiderlin joined Manchester United in the off season



"Nobody else. Everyone else spent more money than they got in. I'd like to change that but I'm realistic. I know the situation of the club.

"It'll be really difficult to reach the same level because in one-and-a-half years, we lost 10, 11 players - a whole team.

"It is not always easy to sign new players and they need time to adapt. It's difficult. Maybe that is one of the reasons why the level is still not consistent at the moment."