Sheffield United are keen on signing Republic of Ireland and Southampton midfielder Will Smallbone, 25, who impressed on loan at Millwall before suffering an injury in October. (SportsBoom, external)
Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Thursday's gossip column here.
Southampton and USA striker Damion Downs is set to join Bundesliga side Hamburg on a loan deal after the 21-year-old has struggled to settle into life at St Mary's since joining in the summer. (Sky Sports Germany), external
Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Tuesday's gossip column here.
Image source, Getty ImagesForward Princewill Ehibhatiomhan has returned to Southampton after his season-long loan at Swindon Town was cut short.
The 20-year-old made 21 appearances in all competitions for the Robins, though only two of those were from the start in the league, and scored three goals.
His last appearance came from the bench in the 90th minute in a 2-0 win at Cheltenham on 29 December.
"Everyone at Swindon Town would like to thank Princewill for his efforts and dedication while with the club. We wish him every success for the next stage of his career," a statement said on the club's website., external
Bayern Munich's Israeli goalkeeper Daniel Peretz, 25, is another whose current loan deal might be cut short after refusing to train for Hamburger SV in order to force a move to Southampton.(BILD - in German, subscription required), external
Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Monday's gossip column here.
Image source, ShutterstockAfter six wins in his first seven games, Southampton are now winless in six under Tonda Eckert
Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert says his side must develop resilience to end their poor festive form behind them.
Saints conceded four goals in 22 minutes in losing heavily at Middlesbrough as their winless streak stretched to six games (three draws, three losses).
It means they are now 15th in the Championship and the feelgood period of Eckert's first few weeks in charge has well and truly evaporated.
"We need to become more resilient as a group," he told BBC Radio Solent. "We can be 2-0 up today, but not every game is going to go that way.
"We've had some games that went this way and it all looks very nice but there are some games that are just not there and we need to be more resilient."
The German knows a lot of work is required ahead of their next league game at home to Hull City on 17 January.
He added: "It is two weeks until we play our next league game, we need to stick our heads together and find solutions for that because in the second half of the season there are many points to play for, but as I keep saying, we need to be more resilient."
Image source, Getty ImagesSouthampton head coach Tonda Eckert has added former Charlton Athletic boss Ben Garner to his coaching team.
Garner, 45, moves to St Mary's as Eckert's first-team assistant coach, completing the German's backroom staff that already includes Jeremy Newton and Ben Reeves, as well as goalkeeper coach Ryan Flood and analyst Albert Jones.
Garner, a former Crystal Palace assistant who has previously managed Bristol Rovers and Swindon, last worked in English football as Colchester United boss.
After he was sacked by the U's in October 2023, he moved his career overseas to work in youth development by taking a role at Ghana's Right to Dream international academy.
Image source, Getty ImagesSouthampton are 14th in the Championship
Southampton manager Tonda Eckert says the result against Middlesbrough on Sunday will dictate whether he is happy to have drawn 0-0 with Millwall.
The Saints dominated for long spells but could not find a way past the Lions defence.
"If you draw a game, it depends what happens after," he told BBC Radio Solent.
"If we can bring home a good result against Middlesbrough, there will be positives to take here."
Eckert made five changes for the game and was pleased to not concede.
"We could have won the game at the end. I'm happy with the clean sheet, we work very hard on that. We didn't take our chances.
"It is four games in 10 days, I was happy with the boys who came in and played today. It is the second game in a row we've had a good impact from the bench."
Southampton will look to do what visitors Millwall did last time out and end a four match winless run when they welcome the Lions to St Mary's on New Year's Day (15:00 GMT).
Millwall picked up a big win over Bristol City on Monday to put themselves back in the top six but only a victory will guarantee they stay there by the time the first day of the new year is done and dusted.
Southampton won seven consecutive home league games against Millwall between 1948 and 1975 but have since won just two of eight meetings with the Lions on home turf (D2 L4), most recently losing 2-1 in February 2024.
Millwall have won their last two league games against Southampton and could complete a league double over the Lions for the first time the 1977-78 campaign in the second tier.
Southampton have only lost one of their last six league games played on New Year's Day (W3 D2), a 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea in the 2013-14 Premier League campaign.
Millwall have won four of their last five league games on New Year's Day but were beaten 1-0 by Oxford United last year – the Lions have never started back-to-back calendar years with defeat on January 1st in the Football League.
Southampton's Adam Armstrong has scored (1) or assisted (2) in each of his three Championship appearances on New Year's Day, most recently netting in a 1-1 draw with Norwich City in 2024.
Tonda Eckert: 'We had impact from the bench today'
Southampton boss Tonda Eckert spoke to BBC Radio Solent after his side's 1-1 draw at Birmingham City.
"I keep repeating, we play every game for three points but at the same time we know it is a tough place to come and not an easy place to play," he said.
"You know if you come here they have high energy, especially at the start, and you might need to go a little bit longer.
"We've been talking about for weeks that we need impact from the bench and we had that today. I'm very happy with the players who came on.
"I think it's a good point if we get three against Millwall."
Image source, PA MediaSouthampton conceded late as they were defeated at Oxford
Southampton boss Tonda Eckert said that their loss at Oxford United on boxing day was "disappointing".
The hosts took the lead thanks to a strike by Tyler Goodrham before Saints levelled prior to half time through Taylor Harwood-Bellis.
Stan Mills then ran through to score a dramatic late winner and claim all three points for managerless Oxford.
"It's disappointing because we wanted to start this block of games well," Eckert said after the match.
"We lost the calmness a little bit which is something you need in games like that, it continued in the second half and was a very open game.
"We are now halfway through the season and have nowhere near the amount of points that we need.
"The positive thing is that we play again in a few days, we need to make sure we start the second half of the season well."
Southampton had claims for a penalty waved away in the first half as Leo Scienza ran through and was brought down.
Eckert's side are next in action when they play Birmingham City on 29 December at St Andrew's.
