Southampton are expecting to achieve an immediate return to the top flight after being relegated to the Championship in 2024/25.
St Mary’s has entered a new era, with Will Still appointed by Southampton following their relegation from the Premier League this summer.
In Still’s first season in command since leaving RC Lens, the Saints are aiming for an immediate return to the Premier League, and as such, the club has already been active in the summer transfer market.
Southampton are pursuing “tremendous” Manchester City star Juma Bah, who could rejoin with former Lens manager Still following his breakout loan spell in Ligue 1.
Southampton are expected to be promoted in the 2025/26 Championship, and ahead of their season, EFL Analysis has looked at the club’s most costly signings of all time.
The five most expensive Southampton signings of all time. After arriving to Southampton, Still made it plain that he intended to return to the top division this season.
Still shared with the media: “I’m eager to get to work this summer and start building a close-knit group that can make everyone proud and ultimately get us back to where we belong; in the Premier League.”
Ahead of the 2025/26 season, we look at Southampton’s five most costly signings ever.
5. Jannik Vestergaard, Borussia Monchengladbach – £18 million
Southampton outbid West Ham United for central defender Jannik Vestergaard in the summer of 2018, paying £18 million.
Since joining from Borussia Mönchengladbach, the Danish defender has appeared 79 times for Southampton in three Premier League seasons.
Vestergaard’s physical presence prompted Leicester City to pay a comparable price for his services in 2021, where he has remained since leaving Southampton and was a member of the Foxes’ relegation team this season.
4. Guido Carrillo from Monaco – £19 million.
Guido Carrillo is Southampton’s fourth most expensive acquisition to date, having joined from Monaco for £19 million in 2018.
However, his signing proved to be a poor one for the Saints, as the Argentine attacker failed to score in ten appearances during his debut season.
Carrillo went on loan to Leganes in the Spanish top flight the following season before joining permanently. His transfer has out to be one of the most disastrous in recent Saints history.
3. Taylor Harwood-Bellis from Manchester City – £20 million
The third player on the list is defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who joined Southampton from Manchester City for £20 million last summer.
The Englishman was instrumental in Southampton’s Championship play-off-winning season in 23/24 under Russell Martin, and as a result of the promotion, he became a permanent Saints player.
2. Danny Ings from Liverpool – £20 million.
Southampton paid an initial £20 million fee for Liverpool forward Danny Ings after a successful season-long loan stay at St Mary’s. Ings, an English international, scored seven goals in 24 appearances for the South Coast side and 38 goals in 75 games over two seasons as a permanent Southampton player.
As a result of his prolific form, Aston Villa spent £25 million for Ings ahead of the 2021/22 Premier League season, but he failed to recover his goalscoring prowess that had served him so well at Southampton.
1. Kamaldeen Sulemana from Rennes – £22 million.
Ghanaian winger Kamaldeen Sulemana remains the club’s record fee after joining Southampton from Rennes for £22 million in the January 2023 transfer window.
Sulemana’s cost topped Southampton’s payment for Ings, as he joined when current Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones was in charge.
Sulemana has only scored four goals in 74 Championship and Premier League appearances since joining Southampton, but he has established himself to be a highly capable attacker.
Sulemana, who has 20 caps for the Ghanaian national team, is clearly a competent player who might revitalize his Southampton career next season under Still’s supervision.
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