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2025–26 Southampton F.C. season

Southampton
2025–26 season
OwnerSport Republic
ChairmanDragan Šolak
ManagerWill Still
StadiumSt Mary's Stadium
Championship8th
EFL CupSecond Round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Four players
(1 goal)
All:
Five players
(1 goal)
Highest home attendance30,970 v Wrexham
(9 August 2025)
Lowest home attendance28,922 v Stoke City
(23 August 2025)
Average home league attendance29,946
← 2024–25
2026–27 →

The 2025–26 season is the 109th season in the history of Southampton, and the club's first season back in the Championship since the 2023–24 campaign, following their relegation from the Premier League in the preceding season. In addition to the domestic league, the club will also participate in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup.

Prior to the season starting, Will Still was appointed as the club's new manager on a three-year contract.[1]

Players

[edit]
Further information: Southampton F.C. § Players
N
 Pos.
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Since
 App
 Goals
 Ends
 Transfer fee
 Notes
1 GK England Alex McCarthy 35 2016 156 0 2026 Undisclosed
2 DF Denmark Mads Roerslev 26 2025 1 0 2029 Undisclosed
3 DF Republic of Ireland Ryan Manning 29 2023 72 1 2027 Free transfer
4 MF England Flynn Downes 26 2024 70 3 2028 Undisclosed
5 DF England Jack Stephens 31 2011 203 8 2028 Academy Captain
6 DF England Taylor Harwood-Bellis 23 2024 87 6 2028 Undisclosed
7 MF Nigeria Joe Aribo 29 2022 104 9 2026 Undisclosed
8 MF Republic of Ireland Will Smallbone 25 2008 90 9 2026 Academy
9 FW England Adam Armstrong 28 2021 146 32 2027 Undisclosed
11 FW Scotland Ross Stewart 29 2023 19 1 2026 Undisclosed
12 DF England Ronnie Edwards 22 2024 4 0 2028 Undisclosed
14 DF England James Bree 27 2023 50 2 2026 Undisclosed
15 DF England Nathan Wood 23 2024 17 0 2028 Undisclosed
16 DF Japan Yukinari Sugawara 25 2024 35 1 2028 Undisclosed
17 DF Germany Joshua Quarshie 21 2025 2 0 2029 Undisclosed
18 MF Portugal Mateus Fernandes 21 2024 46 4 2029 Undisclosed
19 FW England Cameron Archer 23 2024 44 5 2028 Undisclosed
21 DF England Charlie Taylor 31 2024 11 0 2026 Free transfer
22 FW Chile Ben Brereton Díaz 26 2024 14 0 2028 Undisclosed
23 MF England Samuel Edozie 22 2022 63 6 2027 Undisclosed
24 MF Northern Ireland Shea Charles 21 2023 42 0 2027 Undisclosed
26 MF Scotland Ryan Fraser 31 2024 58 8 2026 Free transfer
27 MF Japan Kuryu Matsuki 22 2024 2 0 2028 Undisclosed
31 GK Republic of Ireland Gavin Bazunu 23 2022 81 0 2027 Undisclosed
33 MF England Tyler Dibling 19 2022 44 4 2027 Academy
34 DF Brazil Welington 24 2025 14 0 TBA Free transfer
37 DF Germany Armel Bella-Kotchap 23 2022 31 0 2026 Undisclosed
39 DF France Joachim Kayi Sanda 18 2025 2 0 2029 Undisclosed
42 FW United States Damion Downs 21 2025 3 0 2029 Undisclosed
46 FW England Jay Robinson 18 2019 7 1 2029 Academy
47 MF England Moses Sesay 18 2023 0 0 2028 Academy
58 GK England Dylan Moody 17 2016 0 0 2028 Academy

Transfers

[edit]

Players transferred in

Date Pos. Player Club Fee Ref.
1 July 2025 DF Germany Joshua Quarshie Germany Hoffenheim Undisclosed [2]
9 July 2025 FW United States Damion Downs Germany Köln Undisclosed [3]
10 July 2025 MF England Sutura Kakay England Sheffield Wednesday Undisclosed [4]
16 August 2025 DF Scotland Rory Whittaker Scotland Hibernian Undisclosed [5]
21 August 2025 DF Denmark Mads Roerslev England Brentford Undisclosed [6]

Players loaned in

Date Pos. Player Club Duration Ref.

Players transferred out

Date Pos. Player Club Fee Ref.
1 July 2025 MF England Sam Amo-Ameyaw France Strasbourg Undisclosed [7]
GK United Arab Emirates Adli Mohamed United Arab Emirates Al-Nasr Undisclosed [8]
FW Nigeria Paul Onuachu Turkey Trabzonspor Undisclosed [9]
2 July 2025 MF Ghana Kamaldeen Sulemana Italy Atalanta Undisclosed [10]
28 July 2025 DF Poland Jan Bednarek Portugal Porto Undisclosed [11]

Players loaned out

Date Pos. Player Club Duration Ref.
4 July 2025 DF Spain Juan Larios Spain Cultural Leonesa End of season [12]
8 July 2025 GK England Ollie Wright England Accrington Stanley End of season [13]
31 July 2025 DF England Sonnie Davis England Eastleigh End of season [14]
2 August 2025 GK England Aaron Ramsdale England Newcastle United End of season [15]
6 August 2025 FW Japan Rento Takaoka France Valenciennes End of season [16]
11 August 2025 FW England Princewill Ehibhatiomhan England Swindon Town End of season [17]
14 August 2025 MF France Daouda Traoré Spain Real Betis End of season [18]

Players released

Date Pos. Player Subsequent club Join date Ref.
30 June 2025 DF England Derrick Abu France Valenciennes 1 July 2025 [19][20]
GK England Joe Lumley England Bristol City [19][21]
DF England Kyle Walker-Peters England West Ham United 20 July 2025 [19][22]
GK Northern Ireland Josh McNamara England Eastleigh 2 August 2025 [19][23]
DF England Josh Lett Currently unattached [19]
DF England Lewis Payne Currently unattached [19]
MF England Adam Lallana None (retired) [19][24]

Pre-season and friendlies

[edit]

Southampton announced their first pre-season friendly in May 2025, with the Saints hosting Brighton & Hove Albion at St Mary's Stadium on 2 August.[25] On 5 June, an away pre-season fixture against Eastleigh was confirmed.[26] On 11 June, Valenciennes confirmed a fixture against the Saints at Staplewood Campus.[27] A fourth friendly was added on 16 June as part of a training camp in Spain, with a fixture against Espanyol being arranged.[28] On 18 July, a second friendly during the training camp in Spain was added against Castellón.[29]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

12 July 2025 Friendly Eastleigh 1–2 Southampton Eastleigh
15:00 BST Evans 2' Report Armstrong 45+1' (pen.)
Archer 75'		 Stadium: Ten Acres
Attendance: 4,434
15 July 2025 Friendly Southampton 4–1 Gillingham Marchwood
16:00 BST Archer 27'
Stewart 71'
Dibling 73'
Matsuki 117'		 Report Nolan 105' (pen.) Stadium: Staplewood Campus
Attendance: Behind closed doors
Note: Two sixty minute matches were played.
18 July 2025 Friendly Southampton 2–1 Valenciennes Marchwood
11:00 BST Archer 47'
Armstrong 72'		 Report Baghdadi 17' Stadium: Staplewood Campus
Attendance: Behind closed doors
Note: Two sixty minute matches were played.
23 July 2025 Friendly Castellón 1–1 Southampton Olot, Spain
10:00 BST Mamah 63' Report Sienra 21' (o.g.) Stadium: Nou Estadi Municipal
Attendance: Behind closed doors
26 July 2025 Friendly Espanyol 2–1 Southampton Sant Adrià de Besòs, Spain
10:00 BST Puado 70', 77' (pen.) Report Downs 90+2' Stadium: Ciutat Esportiva Dani Jarque
Attendance: Behind closed doors
2 August 2025 Friendly Southampton XI 0–1 Brighton & Hove Albion XI Southampton
BST Report Sarmiento 21' Stadium: St Mary's Stadium
Attendance: Behind closed doors
Note: Sixty minute match played.
2 August 2025 Friendly Southampton 2–2 Brighton & Hove Albion Southampton
15:30 BST Robinson 69'
Armstrong 73' (pen.)		 Report Minteh 25', 64' Stadium: St Mary's Stadium
Attendance: 11,266
Referee: James Linnington

Competitions

[edit]

Overall record

[edit]
Competition First match Last match Starting round Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
Championship 9 August 2025 May 2026 Matchday 1 3 1 1 1 4 4 +0 033.33
FA Cup January 2026 Third round 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—
EFL Cup 12 August 2025 First round 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00
Total 4 2 1 1 5 4 +1 050.00

Last updated: 23 August 2025
Source: Soccerway

Championship

[edit]
Main article: 2025–26 EFL Championship

League table

[edit]
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
8 Millwall 3 2 0 1 3 4 −1 6
9 Bristol City 3 1 2 0 5 2 +3 5
10 Southampton 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
11 Portsmouth 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
12 Watford 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
Updated to match(es) played on 23 August 2025. Source: EFL Official Website
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Wins; 6) Away goals; 7) Penalty points (sec 9.5); 8) Number of 12-point sending off offences; 9) Play-off (only if needed to determine promotion/relegation)[30]

Results summary

[edit]
Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
3 1 1 1 4 4  0 4 1 0 1 3 3  0 0 1 0 1 1  0

Last updated: 23 August 2025.
Source: Soccerway

Results by round

[edit]
Round12345
GroundHAHAH
ResultWDL
Position58
Points344
Updated to match(es) played on 23 August 2025. Source: Soccerway
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

[edit]

On 26 June, the Championship fixtures were released.[31]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

9 August 2025 1 Southampton 2–1 Wrexham Southampton
12:30 BST Manning 90'
Stephens 90+6'		 Report Windass 22' (pen.) Stadium: St Mary's Stadium
Attendance: 30,970
Referee: James Bell
Note: Live on Sky Sports.
17 August 2025 2 Ipswich Town 1–1 Southampton Ipswich
12:00 BST Harwood-Bellis 4' (o.g.) Report Robinson 29' Stadium: Portman Road
Referee: Bobby Madley
Note: Live on Sky Sports.
23 August 2025 3 Southampton 1–2 Stoke City Southampton
15:00 BST Harwood-Bellis 79' Report Baker 54'
Thomas 75'		 Stadium: St Mary's Stadium
Attendance: 28,922
Referee: Josh Smith
30 August 2025 4 Watford v Southampton Watford
15:00 BST Stadium: Vicarage Road
14 September 2025 5 Southampton v Portsmouth Southampton
12:00 BST Stadium: St Mary's Stadium
Note: Live on ITV Sport & Sky Sports.

FA Cup

[edit]
Main article: 2025–26 FA Cup

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

EFL Cup

[edit]
Main article: 2025–26 EFL Cup

Southampton were drawn away to Northampton Town in the first round[32] and to Norwich City in the second round.[33]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

12 August 2025 First round Northampton Town 0–1 Southampton Sixfields
19:45 BST Report Fernandes 48' Stadium: Sixfields Stadium
Attendance: 4,381
Referee: David Rock
Note: Live on Sky Sports.
26 August 2025 Second round Norwich City v Southampton Norwich
19:45 BST Stadium: Carrow Road
Note: Live on Sky Sports.

Squad statistics

[edit]
As of 23 August 2025
No. Pos. Nat. Player League FA Cup EFL Cup Total
Apps. Goals Apps. Goals Apps. Goals Apps. Goals
1 GK England Alex McCarthy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
2 DF Denmark Mads Roerslev 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0
3 DF Republic of Ireland Ryan Manning 0(3) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1(3) 1 0 0
4 MF England Flynn Downes 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 1 0 3(1) 0 2 0
5 DF England Jack Stephens 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0
6 DF England Taylor Harwood-Bellis 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 3 1 1 0
7 MF Nigeria Joe Aribo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 MF Republic of Ireland Will Smallbone 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 FW England Adam Armstrong 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0 3(1) 0 0 0
11 FW Scotland Ross Stewart 0(2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(2) 0 0 0
12 DF England Ronnie Edwards 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 0
14 DF England James Bree 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15 DF England Nathan Wood 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 0
16 DF Japan Yukinari Sugawara 1(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2(1) 0 0 0
17 DF Germany Joshua Quarshie 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
18 MF Portugal Mateus Fernandes 2(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 3(1) 1 1 0
19 FW England Cameron Archer 0(3) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1(3) 0 1 0
21 DF England Charlie Taylor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0
22 FW Chile Ben Brereton Díaz 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
23 MF England Samuel Edozie 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 MF Northern Ireland Shea Charles 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 1 0
26 MF Scotland Ryan Fraser 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0 3(1) 0 0 0
27 MF Japan Kuryu Matsuki 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0 0(2) 0 0 0
31 GK Republic of Ireland Gavin Bazunu 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0
33 MF England Tyler Dibling 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0
34 DF Brazil Welington 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0
37 DF Germany Armel Bella-Kotchap 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
39 DF France Joachim Kayi Sanda 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
42 FW United States Damion Downs 0(2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1(2) 0 0 0
46 FW England Jay Robinson 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0
47 MF England Moses Sesay 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
58 GK England Dylan Moody 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Still appointed as new Men's First Team Manager". Southampton FC. 25 May 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  2. ^ "Saints agree Quarshie signing" (Press release). Southampton FC. 30 May 2025. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  3. ^ "Saints secure signing of striker Downs" (Press release). Southampton FC. 9 July 2025. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  4. ^ "Saints sign Sutura Kakay to join Under-21s" (Press release). Southampton FC. 10 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  5. ^ "Saints sign Rory Whittaker to join Under-21s" (Press release). Southampton FC. 16 August 2025. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  6. ^ "Saints secure Roerslev signing" (Press release). Southampton FC. 21 August 2025. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  7. ^ "Amo-Ameyaw completes Strasbourg move" (Press release). Southampton FC. 3 February 2025. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  8. ^ "Goalkeeper Mohamed departs in UAE move" (Press release). Southampton FC. 15 June 2025. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
  9. ^ "Terms agreed with Trabzonspor for Onuachu transfer" (Press release). Southampton FC. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  10. ^ "Kamaldeen completes Atalanta move" (Press release). Southampton FC. 2 July 2025. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  11. ^ "Bednarek ends eight-year Saints stay" (Press release). Southampton FC. 28 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  12. ^ "Larios makes loan switch" (Press release). Southampton FC. 4 July 2025. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  13. ^ "Ollie Wright joins Accrington on loan" (Press release). Southampton FC. 8 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  14. ^ "Sonnie Davis joins Eastleigh on loan" (Press release). Southampton FC. 31 July 2025. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  15. ^ "Ramsdale makes Newcastle loan switch" (Press release). Southampton FC. 2 August 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  16. ^ "Youngster Takaoka joins Valenciennes on loan" (Press release). Southampton FC. 6 August 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  17. ^ "Princewill Ehibhatiomhan joins Swindon on loan" (Press release). Southampton FC. 11 August 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  18. ^ "Daouda Traoré joins Real Betis on loan" (Press release). Southampton FC. 14 August 2025. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g "Premier League clubs publish 2024/25 released lists" (Press release). Premier League. 9 June 2025. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  20. ^ "Derrick Abu s'engage avec Le VAFC!" (Press release) (in French). Valenciennes FC. 1 July 2025. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  21. ^ "Lumley is a Red" (Press release). Bristol City FC. 25 June 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  22. ^ "West Ham United sign Kyle Walker-Peters" (Press release). West Ham United FC. 20 July 2025. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  23. ^ "Official: McNamara joins the Spitfires" (Press release). Eastleigh FC. 2 August 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  24. ^ "Lallana announces retirement" (Press release). Southampton FC. 25 June 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  25. ^ "Saints agree Brighton friendly" (Press release). Southampton FC. 29 May 2025. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
  26. ^ "Saints add Eastleigh to pre-season schedule" (Press release). Southampton FC. 5 June 2025. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  27. ^ "Découvrez le programme de préparation du VAFC!". Valenciennes FC (in French). 11 June 2025. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  28. ^ "Saints to face Espanyol in July training camp" (Press release). Southampton FC. 16 June 2025. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
  29. ^ "Saints add CD Castellón friendly to Spain trip". Southampton FC. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  30. ^ "EFL Regulations Section 3 – The League; subsection 9 – Method of Determining League Positions". English Football League. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  31. ^ "The 2025/26 EFL fixtures are here". EFL. 26 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  32. ^ "Carabao Cup Round One draw details confirmed". EFL. 26 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  33. ^ "Saints draw Norwich away in Carabao Cup". Southampton FC. 13 August 2025. Retrieved 13 August 2025.