West Brom may be on red alert at Southampton FC update: View | OneFootball

The Baggies won't want to lose Carlos Corberan - and they may worry every time a lower-end Premier League manager is dismissed.

Premier League side Southampton have endured a rough start to the 2023/24 campaign, with Russell Martin unable to build on his play-off success.

In fairness to Martin, the step up to the top tier of English football was always going to be a big leap, having lost quite a few talented players following their relegation last year.

With Romeo Lavia, Tino Livramento and James Ward-Prowse all moving on from St Mary's, as well as Nathan Tella, they had to rebuild a chunk of their team to try and secure a top-flight return at the first time of asking.

And they were able to succeed in that mission, securing a 1-0 win against Leeds United in the play-off final, with Adam Armstrong's goal the difference in the end.

That day, the Saints were the better team, with Leeds failing to show up in the English capital and put the south-coast side to the sword.

In fairness to the board, they invested a decent amount in the summer and brought in quite a few first-teamers, with Martin having quite a lot of money to spend in the transfer market.

However, it's clear that some of these players will have more of a chance of making a better impact in the long term than they will in the coming months.

It could be argued that Burnley did similar in the transfer market and were unsuccessful, so it will be interesting to see whether the south-coast outfit can do any better.

They aren't in the best position at this point though, winning just one point from a possible 21 in their opening seven league games of the season, with that point coming at home against Ipswich Town.

Dragan Solak concerned with Southampton results

Martin can perhaps count himself lucky that he hasn't been dismissed at this point, even with the Saints doing well at times against Arsenal last weekend.

But even before the game against the Gunners, it was revealed by talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook that the south coast side's owner Dragan Solak was concerned with his team's recent results.

With this update in mind, it may not be too long until Martin is dismissed if results don't improve.

He may have credit in the bank from last season, but Solak will need to put results before loyalty if his side can't get some wins under their belt.

West Brom may be concerned about a potential Southampton approach for Carlos Corberan

There are some talented bosses in the Championship, but few are more talented than Carlos Corberan, who proved his worth at Huddersfield Town and has impressed at West Bromwich Albion for much of his tenure.

Once again, he has been able to guide the Baggies to the right end of the division during the early stages of this season.

In fairness to Albion's board, they have contributed to this success with their summer investment, but Corberan has worked within a limited budget before and with the club currently in the promotion mix, he will be attracting interest from elsewhere.

It can't be forgotten that he has been linked with a move to the English top flight before - and that may worry Albion in the coming months.

As well as the Saints, Crystal Palace are another team who could be on the prowl for a new manager in the coming weeks if results don't improve at Selhurst Park.

Martin's side are in a particularly bad situation though, with the club picking up just one point in seven games. That isn't anywhere near enough.

Corberan may not have top-tier experience, but he's a talented manager who can make the most of what he has and considering he's only 41, he still has plenty of time to improve as a coach and manager.

That could make him an attractive option for the Saints - and if they offer him the job - it may be difficult for the 41-year-old to turn them down.

Martin's side may not be in the best position at the moment, but they still have plenty of time to escape the drop and Corberan could be persuaded to make the move to the south coast.

Whether the club would have Corberan on their radar if they sacked Martin remains to be seen, but what will concern Albion fans is last month's report from the Sunday Mirror (22 September paper edition, page 72) that the Saints were monitoring the Baggies' manager at that point.

They could come knocking if Martin is dismissed, with unlikely to be a major barrier.