Southampton FC urged to avoid taking transfer action on £15m star | OneFootball

FLW's Southampton fan pundit has been discussing whether the club should keep or sell Cameron Archer this summer.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Southampton are set to undergo a major summer overhaul of their playing squad, as they prepare for life back in the Championship following their Premier League relegation.

The Saints are guaranteed to finish rock-bottom of the Premier League this season, and attentions at St Mary's will now surely have already turned towards planning for a vitally important summer ahead.

With their search for a new manager ongoing, whoever is handed the reigns will have a very clear remit given to them: win promotion back to the top flight next season.

In order to accomplish that, there will have to be significant changes made to the playing squad, with those deemed as surplus to requirements and players unwilling to make the drop to second tier football needing to be moved on, and subsequently replaced.

"Fans are really disappointed" - Southampton told what to do with Cameron Archer this summer

We asked our Southampton fan pundit, Martin Sanders: 'Should Southampton keep or sell Cameron Archer this summer in your eyes?'

Sanders said: "I like Cameron Archer.

"A lot of Southampton fans are really disappointed by him. He's a confidence player, he needs a manager to believe in him.

"I think it could have been so different for him (this season). He took the penalty against Manchester United in our second home game. He missed it, and he'd never taken a lot of big penalties before in big games.

"I think if he'd have scored that penalty, his season would have been very different. He's a confidence player, and we haven't had the players around him. I think if you put the right player with the right players around him that can play to his strengths, he'd have a really good chance.

"I think he could be really, really important in the Championship next season. He's linked with a move away, and I'm not surprised that he's been linked with a move away because he would have been very despondent this season.

"He's been in and out of the side, and he's not been able to get consistency. But in terms of finding the back of the net, he knows how to do that in the Championship.

"So, we signed him for £15m, we won't recoup that - I'd keep him."

Cameron Archer's Championship pedigree suggests he could fire Southampton back to the Premier League

If Southampton are to make an instant return to the Premier League next season, then they're going to need all the proven Championship performers they can get their hands on.

Archer is certainly one of those players, having enjoyed highly fruitful spells in the second tier with both Middlesbrough and Preston North End respectively.

With 18 goals and seven assists in 40 Championship appearances (excluding play-off appearances), the 23-year-old striker has a total of 25 direct goal contributions in 40 second tier outings.

That's a superb return for a player who is still at such a tender age, and shows that despite him not quite being able to make the step up to Premier League level yet, he's a different player entirely when he's in the Championship.

With Adam Armstrong set to return to St Mary's this summer after his loan spell with West Brom, and with proven EFL marksman Ross Stewart still in their ranks, Southampton could field a three-headed goalscoring monster in the second tier next season - one that would strike fear into any Championship defence.

Therefore, with Leeds United being long-held admirers of the former England youth international, Saints may well enjoy greater riches by keeping hold of Archer this summer, rather than cashing in.