2 weeks Ago
As Southampton ’s players and staff celebrated their play-off win in May, having beaten Leeds United at Wembley Stadium, there was a surprise visitor at the after-party. Arsenal ’s goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale had gone to Wembley to cheer on winger David Brooks , who was on loan to Southampton from Bournemouth. Brooks is one of Ramsdale’s closest friends, and it is a tradition among their group to go to an end-of-season game in fancy dress.
Ramsdale chose to go as Hagrid from Harry Potter. Advertisement Those at the party , which took place at the Hilton London Wembley, told The Athletic that Ramsdale was the life and soul of the evening, revelling in the celebration, despite having experienced a personally disappointing season after losing his place in the Arsenal starting XI to David Raya . The affection Southampton’s players and staff had for Ramsdale flourished during that party and it was followed by a summer transfer window in which the club tried to woo him.
Yer a Saint, @AaronRamsdale98 ! 😇 pic.twitter.com/yp9OuCI8Ms — Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) August 30, 2024 For a player who could justifiably point to feeling somewhat unloved over the last 12 months, the efforts of Southampton manager Russell Martin to persuade him to join made a big impression on the 26-year-old.
On Friday, Martin said: “Ramsdale wants to become England number one, and he wants to be here. Five weeks ago I’d have said it was crazy, even a week ago it was not achievable. We have pestered him, he’s seen how we have played and wants to show everyone how good he is.
” No fewer than three months later, Ramsdale has gone from partying with Southampton’s players to becoming one of them, after agreeing to join the club on a four-year contract with an optional fifth year, despite interest from elsewhere including Wolverhampton Wanderers , Ajax, Valencia , Nottingham Forest , Bournemouth and others. The deal Arsenal agreed with Southampton is for an initial £18million ($23.7m) and the London club will receive another £1m if Southampton stay in England’s top flight this season.
Further add-ons could take the overall fee to £25million. This is the story of that deal..
. After Gavin Bazunu , Southampton’s No 1 for most of last season, ruptured his Achilles tendon in April, ruling him out until 2025, Alex McCarthy replaced him in the starting XI, playing a key role in helping secure the club a route back to the Premier League via the play-offs. McCarthy, 34, was going to be a free agent from July, but turned down other opportunities to play elsewhere to sign a new two-year contract at St Mary’s.
The club also has Joe Lumley in the goalkeeping stable, while Mateusz Lis recently left to join Goztepe, a Turkish club owned by Sport Republic, Southampton’s majority shareholders. Advertisement With a gap in the goalkeeping ranks at Southampton, they made their first official move for Ramsdale at the end of last week, submitting a loan offer. But Arsenal’s demands, which included a £30million obligation to buy and an initial loan fee of around £5m, were deemed too high.
Southampton instead agreed a deal for Feyenoord’s Justin Bijlow . He then flew over from the Netherlands to complete a medical on the south coast, but after the medical was completed, Southampton decided against proceeding with the transfer . Biljow, 26, posted on social media that Southampton “have a different view to Feyenoord on how to treat an old injury”.
The breakdown of that deal prompted Southampton to return to their efforts to sign Ramsdale, who was Martin’s first-choice goalkeeper target from the beginning. Arsenal’s preference was for a permanent transfer, so on Wednesday Southampton offered an initial £17.5million to sign Ramsdale permanently, with a further £5.
5m in add-ons. The offer was countered by Arsenal, who proposed £18m plus £7m as well as a sell-on clause, which was agreed to by Southampton. As a result, Ramsdale is now a Southampton player.
He signs as Southampton’s new No 1 and will be the club’s highest earner by some margin. The England international arrived at Staplewood, Southampton’s training ground, over the moon. He used to live on the south coast when he played for Bournemouth between 2017-20 and had an enjoyable time in the area.
He is thrilled with the move and is desperate to get going, especially after fearing at one stage that Arsenal’s initial demands might price him out of a move. He will now rejoin Brooks, who he knows from Sheffield United ’s academy and playing together at Bournemouth. Before Ramsdale signed, he spoke to Brooks about Southampton manager Martin and his friend provided a glowing reference.
Advertisement Martin is known for being able to woo new signings and played a key role in convincing Ramsdale to join. Despite late interest from another Premier League club, Ramsdale had already decided that he wanted to move to the south coast and play for a manager he likes and who worked hard to get him. Ramsdale has already been relegated twice from the Premier League before — at Bournemouth and Sheffield United — and is not daunted by the prospect of a relegation scrap at Southampton if it comes to it.
However, Ramsdale believes Southampton can survive under Martin and he is ready for whatever challenges may come. His priority has always been to play regular first-team football again. As for the Arsenal side of things, last season’s title challengers had lined up Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia to replace Ramsdale.
That deal, however, has not been as straightforward to complete as Arsenal envisaged. Garcia’s release clause recently rose to €30million (£25.2m), and Espanyol have been insistent on receiving that fee.
Frustrated by the impasse, Arsenal have moved to agree a loan deal for 35-year-old Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto . Ramsdale’s departure from Arsenal ends his three-year association at the club. They paid Sheffield United, including the add-ons that were all met, £30million in August 2021 and awarded Ramsdale a new contract in 2023, extending his stay in north London until 2026 with the option of an additional year.
The fee they are receiving from Southampton means they have lost money on him. They do, however, retain a sell-on clause which will come into play if and when Ramsdale leaves Southampton. They also expect to make a considerable saving when it comes to his replacement’s salary.
After 89 appearances for Arsenal and losing his place in the starting XI to Raya, Ramsdale was not prepared to spend another season on the bench. He was desperate to play and now he will. He wanted to play football, Southampton wanted a new goalkeeper, and Arsenal were willing to listen to offers, making it a deal that ultimately suits all parties.
GO DEEPER Ramsdale, Sa, Johnstone: Goalkeeper merry-go-round waiting to be resolved before deadline (Top photo: Ramsdale as Hagrid; by James Gill/Danehouse via Getty Images).
