da aposte e ganhe： When Southampton parted with £13.5m to sign a 22-year-old keeper, one wouldn’t have questioned somebody whose eyebrows were raised at the deal.
da dobrowin： Gunn had just spent a season on loan at Championship side Norwich from Manchester City, and also trained with the England team before they jetted off to the World Cup – he definitely had potential, but much of that was unfulfilled.
Significantly, Alex McCarthy had finished the season before that summer ahead of Fraser Forster as the Saints’ No.1 glovesman – both shot-stoppers were of international pedigree, so one presumes that Gunn was coming in to challenge for a starting role given the fee spent on him.
However, 88 weeks on from his arrival at St Mary’s, and Gunn has failed to do that – McCarthy is currently still ahead of him as Ralph Hasenhuttl’s No.1, having won his spot back after being benched for the £13.5m man at the start of the campaign.
The man who earns £40k-a-week at St Mary’s started the first ten Premier League games of the season, but shipped a huge 25 goals including nine in one game against Leicester, where he was then dropped for McCarthy who has kept the shirt ever since.
Gunn was afforded a chance in the FA Cup against Tottenham, but gave away a penalty for Heung-min Son to net a late winner – he also made another mistake in the Premier League affair against Spurs, letting Tanguy Ndombele’s tame shot go through him.
Southampton owner Gao Jisheng must be wondering how Gunn has been allowed to take £17.02m in total from the club’s coffers, only to still be behind the man who he was presumably signed to replace as No.1.
The England U21 international has earned £3.52m in total wages across his 88 weeks at the club since arriving on July 10th 2018, which, when added to his £13.5m transfer fee, means he has eaten into £17.02m of the club’s resources.
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What do Southampton have to show for their investment? Very little, as things stand.
In other news, Hasenhuttl must axe Valery and bring Nathaniel Clyne 2.0 to Southampton this summer…