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Southampton had a very poor start to the season that looks to have ultimately cost them a place in the Championship automatic promotion places.

The Saints were in a battle for the top two with three other teams in Leicester City, Leeds United and Ipswich Town.

They started the season with three wins from their opening eight league games, only taking ten points from a possible 24. Couple that with their recent form of four wins in their last ten league games and Saints now seem too far away to be considered in the race for the top two anymore.

Currently sitting in fourth position and nine points off Leeds in second, who they do have two games in hand on, it seems that late in the season that it may not make much of a difference unless two of the teams above them massively slip up in the next few weeks.

Russell Martin was appointed in the summer as manager and has done a good job in giving the relegated side a new identity - turning them into a promotion candidate that look bright and play some of the most attractive football in the division.

Jason Wilcox, meanwhile, arrived in January 2023 as the club’s director of football and has also done well in bringing the right players to suit Martin’s style of play.

However, the pair have been rumoured to leave St Mary’s in recent weeks and both of them departing could be catastrophic for the Saints in the short term.

Martin and Wilcox linked with moves to Premier League clubs

Both Martin and Wilcox have been linked with moves to Premier League clubs.

According to Football Transfers, Martin is on the radar of Brighton as a potential new manager candidate. The Seagulls’ current manager, Roberto De Zerbi, could leave the South Coast in order to pursue a job at a bigger club – having been linked with the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool.

Football Transfers have also claimed that they initiated talks with Martin over the most recent international break, but nothing has been agreed or finalised as of yet.

Wilcox on the other hand has been heavily linked with making the move north to Manchester United. The Red Devils are currently undergoing a restructure behind the scenes after Jim Radcliffe took control of the club.

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If Martin and Wilcox were both to depart the club in the summer, it would be a huge blow for the Saints - tearing up everything they've built this term.

The club is at the start of a rebuild and the pair have done as well as many would have expected them to. They have a very young squad and play the possession-based style favoured by Martin, which has taken time to bed in.

Even if they do not go up this term, next season they will be seen as one of favourites to go up due to their big budget and already brilliant squad.

But if they lost Martin, things would look very different. He would be a tough coach to replace and Saints would face the dilemma of going for a replacement with a similar philosophy or ripping it up and starting again.

Losing Wilcox would also be a big blow. The director of football has worked well to shape the squad to Martin's philosophy and deserves credit for their turnaround this term.

That now looks as though it will happen, with Martin suggesting it's “likely” that he will go, but the Saints will be desperate to ensure their manager doesn't follow him out the door.