Southampton beat Ipswich Town to Flynn Downes deal

Saturday’s Premier League meeting between Southampton and Ipswich Town is certainly not short of potential talking points.

Two of the three recently promoted teams will meet, and with both teams still searching for their first victory and Southampton still waiting for their first point, there’s a good chance that Kieran McKenna’s Tractor Boys or Russell Martin’s Saints will score first at the fifth attempt.

Before Ipswich successfully negotiated an initial £15 million agreement for the winger, Jack Clarke, Southampton’s proposal was turned down by Sunderland, according to HITC’s understanding.

The Anglian team used it as a form of payback for losing out on Flynn Downes to the hosts this weekend during the same transfer window.

Southampton beat Ipswich Town to Flynn Downes deal

Naturally, the team who won the playoffs the previous season had the advantage against Ipswich.

Even though Downes began his career at Portman Road, he has a strong emotional bond with McKenna’s team. However, the midfielder spent the previous season on loan at St Mary’s from West Ham United, where he developed a great rapport with the coach who quickly made him the focal point of his possession-focused team.

And in an interview with the East Anglian Daily Times, McKenna now affirms that Downes was, in fact, set to rejoin the 1981 UEFA Cup winners before deciding to spend an additional £20 million to pursue his career on the banks of the Solent.

According to the former Manchester United assistant, “Flynn is a very good player.”

“Look, both of our teams were just promoted. They put their signatures 16 players, we signed 12. So there’s always a good chance that you’re going to be talking to some of the same players at different stages of the window, and there were quite a few cases of that.”