Meet the Southampton player who has already scored a hat-trick against potential new manager Carlos Corberan
Today at 07:15 AM
The cynics will argue that, with Southampton looking very much like a Championship team struggling in the Premier League, the appointment of a Championship manager feels rather fitting.
Yet, with The Saints in the market for a replacement head coach following the sacking of Russell Martin in the aftermath of Sunday’s 5-0 humiliation at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur, rumours linking Carlos Corberan with the post means a belated shot at the top-flight could finally be heading the Spaniard’s way.
TBR understands that Southampton are considering ex-Roma boss Ivan Juric. Former Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand is on The Saints shortlist, too.
And with Southampton looking at out-of-work tacticians rather than those under contract elsewhere, Corberan may be something of an outsider. TBR understands that Corberan has a £2.5 million release clause in his West Brom contract.
A clause Southampton have reservations about triggering.
Though, should Sport Republic change their minds, few would argue that Corberan does not deserve such an opportunity, even if a Saints side nine points adrift already feel destined for an immediate return to the EFL.
West Brom boss Carlos Corberan linked with Southampton job
The former Leeds United assistant – he cut his teeth under the legendary Marcelo Bielsa at Elland Road – Corberan has long since established himself as one the most impressive, adaptable tacticians outside of the Premier League.
Corberan guided an unfancied Huddersfield Town outfit to the brink of promotion, only defeated by Nottingham Forest in controversial circumstances at Wembley. Two years after his departure, Huddersfield are now a third-tier outfit.
The 41-year-old then took West Brom from second-bottom to the top-half after being parachuted in to replace Steve Bruce in October 2022. The Baggies are now looking to secure a play-off berth for the second season in succession.
Of course, any manager Southampton hire in their current predicament – be it Juric, Hjulmand or Corberan – is likely to arrive with the likelihood of an eventual relegation in mind.
"[Hjulmand should] have an agreement with Rasmus Ankersen that it's okay to get relegated from the Premier League and then build it up in the Championship," Kuhn adds, having watched The Saints fall 5-0 down at home to Tottenham in Russell Martin's last march.
"They are going to get relegated,” ViaPlay’s Allan Kuhn says when asked about the prospect of Hjulmand taking over. I commentated on them on Sunday against Tottenham. The first-half they played there was one of the worst I've ever seen.
"So, I'm very afraid that this is a club that is 100 per cent certain to be relegated from the Premier League."
Adam Armstrong could shine under Corberan at The Saints
But relegation would not be a complete disaster. Corberan’s impressive record in the second-tier, coupled with a Saints squad chockfull of Championship ‘Galacticos’, could see a red-and-white tidal wave sweep all before them in 2024/25.
And if Corberan is an elite coach at second-tier level, then Adam Armstrong is something akin to the Championship’s answer to Erling Haaland. Armstrong, across his last three seasons in the Championship, has averaged over 20 goals.
Three came as Blackburn Rovers thrashed Corberan’s Huddersfield 5-2 back in 2021, meanwhile. A point-blank header, followed by two smart finishes in the second half, saw Armstrong run riot as Corberan watched on helplessly.
Three-and-a-half years on, should Southampton decide that he is the right man to build on the foundations Russell Martin leaves behind, Corberan will just be glad he gets to wield one of the most feared weapons in the EFL should he find himself sharing a dressing room with a striker even a coach of his talents could find no answer to.
Presuming Southampton can retain Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Kyle Walker-Peters, Flynn Downes and Ben Brereton-Diaz, plus Armstrong, only the bravest of men would bet against Corberan-led Southampton taking out their frustrations on the rest of the Championship 12 months from now.
