‘Solak Has Concerns’ About Key Southampton Figure

Southampton owner Dragan Solak has concerns about sporting director Rasmus Ankersen’s recruitment work following their poor start to the Premier League season, talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook has revealed.

The Saints parted ways with manager Russell Martin on Sunday after their 5-0 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur and, ccording to Crook, another senior figure at St Mary’s could soon come ‘under the microscope’ as well.

Despite their busy summer transfer window, in which the club welcomed more than a dozen new signings, the Saints have struggled to produce results on the pitch.

They are sitting rock bottom of the Premier League table, having collected just five points and one win from the first 16 games.

According to Crook, Southampton’s poor displays may not be solely down to Martin’s coaching, and some of the blame must fall on their ‘not good enough’ recruitment.

The talkSPORT journalist suggested that a storm may be brewing for Ankersen, who is also under scrutiny from Solak:

“I’ll come back to the recruitment not being good enough. It wasn’t good enough when they were relegated first time round from the Premier League a couple of years ago, which I thought, then was utterly preventable.

“So I don’t think it’s just Russell Martin who should come under the microscope. They’ve got Rasmus Ankersen, the sporting director, who’s been in charge of a lot of that recruitment, and I know that Dragan Solak has concerns about him as well. So let’s see what happens there.”

Southampton’s summer business saw them spend around £100m on new signings, including large sums on Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Aaron Ramsdale, Flynn Downes, Cameron Archer and Matheus Fernandes.

However, the new-look squad has struggled to gel and excel in Martin’s ball-oriented system, which has been a huge disappointment in the Premier League, despite last season’s success.

After sacking Martin on Sunday, the Saints have yet to identify a priority replacement for the 38-year-old, and a foreign coach is now becoming more likely.

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Southampton are eyeing both Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl and former Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand, who was considered at St Mary’s previously.