Will Still revived Southampton FC flop and inspired £21m Spurs transfer - he is key for Sport Republic | OneFootball

Will Still revived Kevin Danso after his Southampton FC struggles, underlining his qualities as a coach. It's perfect timing for Saints to get him.

Kevin Danso has signed permanently for Tottenham Hotspur in a £21 million transfer from French side RC Lens, despite being a complete flop at Southampton.

Danso signed on loan for Southampton in 2019. The Austrian, Ralph Hassenhuttl, was in charge at St Mary's and recognised the potential of his 19-year-old compatriot. Danso had been playing his football for FC Augsburg in the German Bundesliga, making 44 appearances for the club.

Danso had already built a great reputation for himself by the time he arrived on the south coast. Southampton fans were keen to see him in action but Hasenhüttl had difficulty trying to shoehorn the youngster into his team. As a result, Danso played just 10 times for the Saints, which included being sent off against Manchester United and playing 45 minutes in the infamous 9-0 thrashing by Leicester City at St Mary's.

Hassenhüttl played Danso out of position at Southampton

Although centre-back was Danso's preferred position, the Southampton coach played him first at left-back and then even tried him for one match at right-back. The player spoke about the experience in an interview with the Daily Echo.

Unsurprisingly, Danso returned to FC Augsberg at the end of the loan term and was quickly loaned out again, this time to Bundesliga Two outfit, Fortuna Düsseldorf. The Austrian's form picked up at Fortuna, and he helped them to a fifth-placed finish before being transferred to RC Lens in the Summer of 2021.

Danso proves to be an inspired signing for Lens

Danso proved to be an inspired signing for Lens and during the three and a half years that he spent there the Blood and Gold finished seventh, second, and seventh again under head coach Franck Haise. During this period, Danso made over 100 appearances.

It was during Danso's fourth season at Lens, after Will Still had taken the helm, that the Austrian's early potential appeared to be fulfilled.

Under Still's leadership, the 26-year-old central defender achieved two man-of-the-match performances in 12 appearances and achieved the highest set of player rankings in his career, as per whoscored.com.

Danso becomes a UEFA Europa League winner

During February 2025, Tottenham Hotspur were impressed enough to take the player on loan to North London. The 26-year-old made 10 Premier League appearances as Spurs limped to the end of a challenging domestic season and came on as a late substitute when they defeated Manchester United in the Europa League final.

As reported by BBC Sport, as per the terms of the loan agreement, Danso signed for Tottenham in a £21m permanent deal on the opening day of the transfer window.

Kevin Danso's success is another indication that Southampton have made a shrewd appointment with Will Still. Still's ability to get that little bit extra out of his players may be just what the South Coast club need as they head into a long season in the Championship. His past work with players who haven't convinced at St Mary's further justifies this and its timing could not be better, with a broken squad needing to be patched together and hit the ground running.