Spurs’ Transfer Rumor: Charlie Austin Signs with Southampton for £4 million
If Spurs were interested in Charlie Austin, or a striker in general, they just missed out.
This just in, Southampton have signed Charlie Austin which has come from the club’s official website so this is a legitimate signing — pictures and all. Here’s Charlie Austin’s official Twitter account with said picture of him wearing a Saints kit.
Delighted to have joined @SouthamptonFC I will give everything to be successful here ⚽️⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/8DAxo1k8pP
— Charlie Austin (@chazaustin10) January 16, 2016
So what does this signing mean for Spurs? A couple of things.
For starters, there’s one less striker on the transfer market that is available. Second, Tottenham’s supposed list of center-forwards that they have in mind is going down at a certain pace. Whether that’s having their targets sign a contract extension, whether they transfer or just Spurs denying any contact with potential targets/rumors.
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Still, time will tell if Southampton got a steal once the season ends, but as of right now, the Saints bagged a great signing at the perfect value for a 26-year-old striker who has done nothing else but score goals in two consecutive seasons.
Last term, Charlie Austin scored 18 goals in 36 appearances in his debut season in the Premier League. With Queens Park Rangers playing in the Championship following their relegation last year, Austin has scored 10 goals in 12 matches this term.
Adding it all up right now is 28 goals in 48 matches over a season and a half. The point is this, Austin is a goal scoring machine and Spurs missed out on a perfect opportunity to sign a striker to start alongside Harry Kane from a goals-to-transfer fee ratio.
Because as is, there’s no way that Tottenham can find someone else who can score nearly 30 goals in just under 50 games for less than £4 million.
The only one who could come close, in both values of a transfer fee and scoring goals would have been Chicharito — who may have been a bit more expensive — but was another player that Spurs let slip by them this past summer, when the Mexican international left Manchester United for Bayer Leverkusen.
And yeah, sure, their was a concern this season for Charlie Austin in the Championship, as he was sidelined for about a month with a hamstring injury. But injuries aside, Spurs needed goals and they missed out in the end. Plain and simple. Here now, is the newest signing for Southampton talking about his move:
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“I’m delighted to have got it over the line so soon into January,” Charlie Austin speaking to Southampton’s official website. “I can’t wait to get started now.”
“You see the progression from when I was playing against Southampton for Swindon. For me, it was important to come to a club that’s on the up and that’s what I’ve got here.”
Of course, while Spurs should have pursued the English striker, Charlie Austin would have wanted to move to north London as well. And speaking to the Southampton’s website, it didn’t seem like he was interested in any other club besides the Saints.
“I didn’t realize Southampton was an option until a couple of weeks ago, and when a club like Southampton comes in for you you, it’s a real head turner,” Austin continued.
“To be honest, I didn’t think I was going to move until the summer, but as soon as Southampton sh9owed an interest in me, it was the one club I wanted to go to.”
“If we could get the deal as soon as possible I was ready to go, and lucky enough it’s now and I’m delighted.”
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So where do Spurs go from here?
Not much really. There’s only been one signing and that was Shilow Tracey who is a great addition for the future. But so far, Spurs are still scouting more of England’s young talent while getting players back from injuries minus Ryan Mason, Alex Pritchard and Clinton N’Jie.
Basically, the team is getting healthy at the right time, they’re returning to form after a big win and while depth at any position would be good. There isn’t that much space on the squad to add right now unless some players are dropped on matchday or sold outright. Andros Townsend? More or less, it’s a quite winter transfer window again.