Ivan Juric Drops Big Flynn Downes Update Ahead of Southampton v Brighton
Southampton manager Ivan Juric has now confirmed that midfielder Flynn Downes is back with the squad after a spell away due to disciplinary reasons.
Downes has played a crucial role for the Saints since arriving, helping the club gain promotion back to the Premier League. The former West Ham man initially signed on loan before his move was made permanent after the Saints secured their place in England’s top flight.
At the start of the 2024/2025 campaign, Downes was a regular under Russell Martin, but he’s found himself out of the team of late.
According to Southampton manager Juric, Downes is now back with the Southampton squad after a spell away. Juric previously stated that it was an ‘ugly situation’ with Downes during the January transfer window.
Downes hasn’t been involved since, but Juric has now confirmed that he’s training with the squad once again. It certainly wouldn’t have been a nice situation for Southampton fans to see happen at their club, especially with a player who has played a key role since he arrived through the door.
Although it’s unclear how Downes acted or what he did, Ipswich Town reportedly made an approach to sign the midfielder in January. Juric clearly opted to stamp his authority at St Mary’s and isn’t going to allow any player to act unprofessionally.
When the Saints are competing to stay in the Premier League and are already up against it, the last thing Juric needs is players acting in an ‘ugly’ manner. It will be interesting to see what kind of role Downes plays between now and the end of the season as due to the transfer window being closed, there’s no way of Downes heading through the exit door.
