Southampton is determined to bring Ryan Fraser back to their squad for the 2024-25 season but negotiations
seem to have turned out to be overly complex according to the latest reports, which paint a murky situation between the forward and Newcastle.
For context, Fraser is still under contract at NUFC but it’s been clear that he has nothing to do in Tyneside with Eddie Howe going as far as removing him from the first-team activities and sending him to the U21 squad so he could at least stay active.
Fraser, for what’s worth, had a successful loan spell at Southampton last season and according to Aaron Stokes of Chronicle Live he’s ambitious about securing a permanent move to the Saints organization.
Southampton have already signed Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Flynn Downes in a similar way to what they could do with Fraser, turning past-season loan deals into permanent deals ahead of the 2024-25 campaign. More business have seen the Saints add a plethora of players from elsewhere including Adam Lallana, Charlie Taylor, Ronnie Edwards, Nathan Wood, and Yukinari Sugawara.
Fraser, still 30 years old, manned the wing smoothly for Southampton last year contributing eight goals and three assists across all competitions, and he’s seen as a great performer both on offense and defense. Ultimately, Fraser and the Saints earned their promotion to the Premier League by beating Leeds United 1-0 in the Championship playoffs.
With Fraser and Newcastle having to agree to an early contract termination so he could join the Saints on a free, reports suggest Southampton might try to agree to some sort of loan deal turning into a free transfer in June 2025 unless Southampton finds the money to purchase the forward proper this offseason.
“The 30-year-old still has one year to run on his Newcastle deal, with Southampton yet to agree a fee with the Magpies for the former Scotland international,” Stokes wrote. “Another loan deal between the parties remains a possibility before Fraser then becomes a free agent in the summer of 2025.”
