Southampton completed the signing of Theo Walcott from Everton on loan on transfer deadline day and The Athletic’s Dan Sheldon has been discussing the structure of the deal during a recent edition of the Headline podcast.
The 31-year-old left the Saints back in January 2006 to join Arsenal in a deal reportedly worth £9.45m (as per Transfermarkt). More than 14 years later, the winger has returned to St. Mary’s Stadium.
Here is what Sheldon had to say with regards to the ins and outs of this deal:
“As far as I’m aware, it’s just a straight season-long loan deal and then I think he’ll be a free agent next summer. So, I mean, if the club wanted to make that move permanent, it’s something they could do; that would depend largely on how he does this year.
“But like I say, the main thing is that Southampton view this as like a sort of a win-win, really. They’re getting a player that they haven’t got to pay all of his wages for. I’m told it’s around 50% of his wages that are going to be paid, and he brings that experience that they’re after.
“So if it works out, it’s great, they’ve not had to pay for him and they’re only paying a chunk of his wages. If it goes wrong, they haven’t paid a big transfer fee and again, they’re just paying his wages and then they can part ways next summer.”
Have you been pleased with the signing of Theo Walcott?
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TIF Thoughts…
Walcott has made 347 Premier League appearances to date, scoring 75 goals and providing his teammates with 57 assists (as per Transfermarkt). As such, it can certainly be argued that the £10.8m-rated player will bring plenty of experience to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side and as explained by Sheldon, in our view, the terms of the deal bring very little risk to the Saints.