The forgotten Southampton sale who would have fixed two major issues for Tonda Eckert
Tonda Eckert will be pleased with the quality players he has at his disposal at the moment at Southampton.
Indeed, he has come out to state that Cyle Larin is the Championship's best striker, with the Canadian scoring two poacher finishes against Watford and Stoke City in league action.
Moreover, the likes of Flynn Downes, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, and Ryan Manning are seasoned, dependable individuals for the testing division, with Downes assisting Larin's opener against the Potters, while Manning got his season account up and running with a penalty at the death against Mark Robins' visitors.
The German will still want to be backed in the transfer market a bit more, as we enter into the final couple of days of the frantic window, with a new midfield recruita clear priority, alongside an additionalcentre-back.
The Championship promotion hopefuls must feel tinges of tegret every so often that they discarded Ronnie Edwards to Queen Park Rangers, as he would be a very useful body to have around the squad at the moment defensively.
Southampton discarded Edwards prematurely
When Edwards first joined the Saints in 2024, he was labelled as being one of "England's best ball-playing CB prospects" by scout Ben Mattinson.
High praise, indeed, but the Harlow-born defender deserved such praise, as he regularly controlled matches playing out from the back for Peterborough United, with his final season for the Posh seeing him average a superb 91% pass accuracy average.
Even when they were minnows punching above their weight in the second tier, he stood out as a composed presence, with an 88% pass accuracy average registered during the 2021/22 campaign, all while being a wide-eyed teenager.
Southampton thought they had hit the jackpot, but he just never managed to fit in, with 16 appearances in Saints red and white passing him by, before he was shifted out to the R's for £4.5m.
Safe to say, if they could turn back time, they would be utilising him today over a rusty Jack Stephens,as he has eight clean sheets and three goals next to his name, in the demanding second tier, with the West London outfit.
A second pang of pain will be felt when it comes to the hasty exit of the 23-year-old, as he has stood out for Julien Stephan's men this season as a defensive midfield option.
He can even slot into the midfield if needed
Edwards was just a victim of his unfortunate circumstances on the South Coast.
Indeed, he joined Russell Martin's group the summer they won promotion to the Premier League, meaning he was immediately way down the pecking order, as it would've been bold for Martin to start him week in week out in a league he had never played in before.
By the time relegation had occurred, he had only played two times for the Saints, and after putting in some unconvincing performances in the second tier under Will Still, he was moved back to more comfortable surroundings at Loftus Road.
It's clear that Loftus Road is a far happier home for Edwards than St. Mary's ever was, with the number five present in both starting lineups this season, as QPR have collected four points from six in the Championship.
In both games, Stephan has slotted the one-time Barnet youngster into his main team as a midfield anchor, and he has excelled being handed these further forward responsibilities.
During the 0-0 stalemate with Bolton Wanderers last time out, Edwards only misplaced six of his 54 passes, all while winning six tackles and duels to protect the back four behind him.
It was his ability to pick out a pass effortlessly that would be praised by the R's faithful, with one fan on social media labelling the 5-foot-11 holding midfielder as a"Rolls Royce"of a player.
Stephan will continue to keep selecting his classy number five, whether that's as a centre-back, or as a midfield option.
Back on the South Coast, Eckert will be hoping some more signings are forthcoming to strengthen his own team, softening the sting of the sizeable Edwards-shaped regret in the process.
