Southampton: 2021 flop who’s worse than Manning has seen his value plummet
The French defender did not make a good impression at Premier League level.
Southampton were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2022/23 campaign after an 11-year stint in the top-flight of English football.
The Saints enjoyed a long spell at the top level but were unable to take it any further as a combination of Ralph Hasenhuttl, Nathan Jones, and Ruben Selles failed to lead the team to safety.
Their relegation was the culmination of several years of poor recruitment and managerial decisions that followed on from the fantastic success that the likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Ronalnd Koema achieved on the south coast.
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Fraser Forster | Goalkeeper |
| Nathaniel Clyne | Right-back |
| Jose Fonte (C) | Centre-back |
| Maya Yoshida | Centre-back |
| Ryan Bertrand | Left-back |
| Victor Wanyama | Central midfielder |
| Morgan Schneiderlin | Central midfielder |
| Steven Davis | Right midfielder |
| James Ward-Prowse | Attacking midfielder |
| Dusan Tadic | Left midfielder |
| Graziano Pelle | Centre-forward |
| Koeman’s first Southampton XI against Liverpool in 2014: | |
Southampton had struck gold with the likes of Victor Wanyama, Sadio Mane, Dusan Tadic, and Virgil van Dijk in the past but their recruitment in recent years has left a lot to be desired.
One signing that has turned out to be a big blunder by the club was left-back Romain Perraud, who was brought in to replace Ryan Bertrand after his exit in 2021 and was even worse than current first-choice Ryan Manning.
How many appearances did Bertrand make for Southampton?
The former Chelsea prospect nailed down his place at the back for the Saints over the course of his seven-year spell at St. Mary’s, which initially started as a loan from Stamford Bridge.
He made a whopping 240 appearances in all competitions in that time, which included 218 Premier League outings, and the talented defender contributed with eight goals and 20 assists.
Why did Southampton sign Perraud?
The Saints swooped to sign Perraud from Stade Brest on a four-year deal in the summer of 2021, after Bertrand left on a free transfer, and manager Ralph Hasenhuttl described it as an “important” signing.
He arrived in England off the back of a strong season in Ligue 1 for his former club and appeared, on paper, to be a good addition to the squad.
The French gem averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.96 across 36 outings in the French top-flight and caught the eye with his contributions at both ends of the pitch.
Defensively, Perraud made three tackles and interceptions combined per game and won 55% of his duels, which shows that he came out on top in the majority of his battles and made multiple defensive interventions to prevent opposition attacks each match.
He also showcased his ability to make things happen in the final third with three goals and seven assists, along with five ‘big chances’ created, in those 36 clashes.
At the time of his move to Southampton, FootballTransfers placed his Expected Transfer Value (xTV) at €15.1m after his impressive displays for Stade Brest during the 2020/21 campaign.
How did Perraud perform for Southampton?
The French full-back struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League during his debut year in England as his performances left a lot to be desired.
Perraud averaged a dismal Sofascore rating of 6.58 across 20 top-flight outings throughout the 2021/22 season, which was the 20th-highest score within the squad.
The former Stade Brest star was unable to replicate his Ligue 1 form for Southampton as his play in and out of possession was less-than-impressive over the course of the campaign.
He contributed with zero goals and one assist in those 20 matches and only made 0.4 key passes per game, with one ‘big chance’ created in total. 12 of his teammates managed more key passes per clash than the left-back, which suggests that he lacked creative quality.
Perraud also only made 2.5 tackles and interceptions per match, 0.5 fewer per game than he did for Brest in Ligue 1, and lost 54% of his duels. This shows that opposition players got the better of him more often than not, which made him a liability from a physical perspective.
The French defender made a minimal improvement throughout his second season at St. Mary’s. He made 0.5 key passes per game, 0.1 more than the previous term, and chipped in with two goals and two assists from left-back, as per Sofascore.
Perraud made 2.6 tackles and interceptions per outing, another improvement of 0.1, but also lost 56% of his physical battles with the opposition, as per Sofascore.
These statistics show that, across both seasons, the former Ligue 1 ace was unable to provide quality as a defender or an attacker for the Saints.
Southampton were, of course, relegated from the Premier League at the end of his second campaign with the club and new manager Russell Martin opted to bring in Ryan Manning on a free transfer to be his first-choice at left-back.
How has Ryan Manning performed this season?
The Ireland international has not had a faultless start to life on the south coast, with one error that directly led to a goal, but there has been enough from his performances to suggest that he is an upgrade on Perraud.
He has averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.08 across 11 Championship appearances this season and contributed from an attacking perspective with two assists and 1.8 key passes per game.
Only Will Smallbone (two) has averaged more key passes per match than the defender and this highlights how important he has been as a creative threat for the club.
Manning, despite some defensive frailties, has also won 57% of his duels as a left-back and has, therefore, shown more strength than Perraud did during his time in England as opposition players have not found it as easy to get the better of him.
How much is Perraud worth now?
At the time of writing (09/10/2023), the 26-year-old defender is currently on loan with Nice in Ligue 1 and FootballTransfers has his xTV at €5.5m (£4.7m).
This means that his value has plummeted by a whopping 64% from the initial €15.1m that he was valued at when the French dynamo made the move from Stade Brest to Southampton in 2021.
Perraud has played 33 minutes of league football and been an unused substitute twice for Nice so far this season and this does not suggest that his xTV is set to soar back up any time soon.
Therefore, Southampton and Hasenhuttl made a big blunder when they signed the flop in 2021 as he was unable to adapt to the quality and physicality of English football, which is something that has not been an issue for Manning.
Based on their respective statistics, Perraud is a worse option than the Irish talent and Martin was right to bring the former Swansea man in to replace him over the summer.
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