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Southampton move for £50m pair Quincy Promes and Guido Carrillo as Mauricio Pellegrino dismisses job concerns
The managers in the dugout at St Mary’s on Sunday afternoon were born within six months of each other. They are former Argentina international team-mates and even share the same Christian name.
They were also unknown to Southampton fans when they controversially replaced a successful managerial predecessor – and it is at this point that comparisons between Mauricio Pochettino and Mauricio Pellegrino become harder to sustain.
The impact of Pochettino on the Southampton squad was evident in his first match against Everton in 2013 when the players immediately implemented the high press, high intensity style that is his hallmark.
Pellegrino is six months into his tenure and, after only five wins in 25 games, many Southampton supporters will tell you that they still have no idea how he wants this team to play.
They have not won a Premier League match since November and, with clubs around them in the relegation battle having resorted to a managerial change, it is with some justification that bookmakers now regard Pellegrino as the next casualty.
The Southampton hierarchy had always intended to support him through what has so far been a frustrating transfer window. Yet it is clear also that the situation is under scrutiny and the need for some sort of revival is becoming urgent.
For all the talk of stability and continuity following the sale of 80 per cent of the club last August, it is also unclear how concerned the Chinese Gao family are becoming about their investment. Pellegrino has been sacked twice in a managerial career that has taken in five clubs in six years but he regards this current situation as the toughest – and yet still the most beneficial – he has experienced. “I am worried about a lot of things, but not my job,” he said.
“When you are too comfortable you feel you’re not growing. The difficult moments are 100 per cent more important than the easier moments. You can learn from the experiences.” Pellegrino’s positive and friendly demeanour around the training ground has never wavered despite being dealt a difficult hand.
The dressing-room became fractured last season amid the handling of Jose Fonte’s eventual departure to West Ham United. His successor as captain, Virgil van Dijk, then became embroiled in an even more acrimonious stand-off over his desire to join Liverpool.
Van Dijk’s world record £75 million sale was finalised over Christmas and yet, almost a month on, Southampton are yet to deliver the planned reinforcements. They tried to sign Theo Walcott from Arsenal but he chose Everton and they are in talks to recruit both the Monaco striker Guido Carrillo and the Spartak Moscow winger Quincy Promes in deals worth a combined £50 million. Pellegrino stressed on Friday that he would rather be still waiting for the right signings than having had the club panic and sign the wrong players.
“I think if we bring somebody [in] it will be important for everybody – our players, the staff, the board, the club,” he said. “To bring players is easy. To bring good players, when a lot of teams are fighting for them, is difficult. We cannot be too anxious to try to make quick deals. We have to be calm even in difficult situations. I’d rather bring one player instead of three that wouldn’t be sure to improve the squad. I have to be optimistic that in the next few days something significant will happen.”
Southampton’s recruitment record won praise in the aftermath of Pochettino’s departure but there are questions about recent signings and a belief that Graziano Pelle and Sadio Mane have not been adequately replaced.
A managerial selection process that peaked in the hiring of Pochettino and then Ronald Koeman seems also to have faltered, even if the outside perception that replacing Claude Puel was necessarily a mistake is flawed.
Yes, Southampton are struggling just now and Puel has performed well at Leicester City, but there were legitimate concerns over his quiet man-management style. The surprise was that Southampton did not turn to a more forceful personality than Pellegrino, even if his relationship with the players is good.
The suspicion among sources at Liverpool is that Pellegrino, who worked as assistant there to Rafael Benitez, might simply be too nice for real success as a manager.
Against that, Pellegrino’s achievements last year with Alaves cannot be dismissed and he remains convinced that Southampton can rise amid a congested Premier League table that has them both at risk of relegation and within striking distance of a fifth straight top 10 finish.
“I know we are in a difficult situation but, maybe in two or three weeks’ time, we talk about a different history,” said Pellegrino. “If you don’t want to be in difficult situations, don’t play the game and stay at home. We are building something not just for the next two games, but for the future, and I feel alive helping my players approach this.”