Southampton, from the outside at least, looks to be a brilliantly run club.

Ronald Koeman seems a really excellent manager and the Saints academy produces more quality than almost any other academy in the whole of Europe.

All of these factors make the save an exciting one and taking over from Koeman means that you are left with a club and squad that is in a good way.

What you start with...

Wage budget wise, Southampton have a little bit of space to play with at the start of your save, but, most importantly, you are given over £10 million from the start of your save as a bare minimum.

Southampton

What's expected...

Premier League - You can boost your budget by saying you will make it to the Euro Cup places through league qualification, but a top half finish will see the fans and board pretty satisfied.

FA Cup - Making it to the quarter finals would be an ideal finish for the Saints, although a cup run, with this sort of quality in the squad could be a good way of gaining some extra reputation and getting your hands on some silverware.

Capital One Cup - We would advise you to make a push for one of the cups. The Capital One Cup should be within your reach in the first campaign and, seeing as mid-table seems a certainty, you can throw all your resources at getting a trophy in your first season.

Three to buy...

Nathan Redmond - Norwich will be reluctant to let go of their rapid star, but Redmond would nicely compliment Dusan Tadic's creativity. Mane will face a lot of interest from bigger clubs and Redmond would be a good replacement or rotation option for the forward.

Terence Kongolo

Terence Kongolo - Continuing the Dutch links, Kongolo is an immense centre-back and he would also offer cover for Ryan Bertrand at left-back. The defender can play equally well in both roles and would be an ideal partner to Virgil van Dijk once you decide Jose Fonte needs moving on.

Renato Sanches - Another Portuguese starlet, Renato Sanches fits in with your new signing philosophy and, at just 18, could form a formidable partnership with James Ward-Prowse. His creativity is undoubtedly his biggest strength and you will face some strong competition for the youngster.

Three to sell...

Paulo Gazzaniga - Not many third choice goalkeepers can rival the wages Gazzaniga is on and he simply has to go out the door. The keeper is never going to get anywhere near the first team and those wages could be used to bring in several youngsters.

Gaston Ramirez - For all the talent he has, Ramirez is too much of a man management challenge to be worth the hassle. Some of you may fancy your chances of getting the best out of him, but the Uruguayan isn't going to fit in any system that's going to rely on him doing any work.

Gaston Ramirez

Maya Yoshida - The signing of Van Dijk has left Yoshida to be surplus to requirements at St Mary's and we think you should add an upgrade on this centre-back at the start of your save.

Youngsters...

James Ward-Prowse - Ward-Prowse is still just a kid, really, and the starlet is already one of your best players. His set piece delivery is one of the best in the league and Ward-Prowse will be an England regular by 2017.

James Ward-Prowse

Sam Gallagher - In the days of Pochettino and Rickie Lambert, Sam Gallagher has a few appearances in the Southampton first team and, if you don't want to sign a new striker, Gallagher could be used as occasional backup to Graziano Pelle. Gallagher's potential is hard to predict, so sending the youngster on loan could buy you some time.

Matt Targett - Ryan Bertrand is a highly rated left-back on FM16, but you have a very high quality deputy in Matt Targett. If you are tempted to sign someone to cover on the left hand side, make sure you check out Targett first and give him the minutes his potential warrants.

[ad_pod id='football-survey' align='center']

[ad_pod id='writeforus' align='center']