The truth on Ryan Fraser’s ‘dream’ Southampton transfer as ex-Newcastle United man faces ‘nightmare’

Ryan Fraser’s time at Newcastle United came to an end this summer after eventually sealing a permanent move to Southampton.

Fraser spent last season on-loan with the Saints and impressed as they secured promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. It was expected that Fraser would seal a permanent move to St Mary’s this summer, however, that only happened in the final hours of deadline day.

Speaking about his move back to the south coast, the 30-year-old described himself as the ‘happiest man’ in Southampton, stating: “I’m probably the happiest man in Southampton at the minute. It’s been a long summer from the play-off final to now, but my number one goal was to get back here and now that it’s happened, it’s one of my proudest moments to be honest. Probably second after winning the play-offs. So yeah, it’s really nice to be here.

“I think the journey that the players and the fans went through last season, we came together and it’s amazing to be back.”

Fraser’s departure meant that Newcastle United had offloaded a player that had no future at the club and thus removed his wages from their books. For Russell Martin and the Saints, Fraser’s arrival could have been the spark they needed to transform their season.

Alas, seven games in, and that just hasn’t happened. Southampton remain winless and sat second from bottom in the Premier League table, above basement club Wolves only on goal difference.

Adapting to life back in the top-flight has been difficult for a Saints side that are keen to dominate the ball. As Burnley saw last season, failing to adapt your game to the demands of the Premier League could have disastrous consequences and Southampton find themselves needing to change something, or threaten to get left behind.

Fraser, meanwhile, has started two of their last four games as one of Martin’s trusted lieutenants. However, he was hooked at half-time of their defeat against former club Bournemouth before missing their clash against Arsenal entirely due to illness.

Rejoining Southampton this summer may have been a dream for Fraser, but it could turn into a relegation nightmare.