Southampton have signed left-back, Ryan Manning on a free transfer.
Manning’s move to Southampton comes after almost two weeks since his contract at Swansea City expired, with the 27 year-old having produced seven goals and 19 assists across 109 appearances in three seasons in South Wales since he joined from QPR in October 2020.
Manning has signed a four-year contract at Swansea until June 2027 and upon confirmation of his contract, he commented: “I’m absolutely delighted to be here. I’m over the moon and I can’t wait to get started.
“It’s a massive club, been in the Premier League for so many years, and I’m just excited about the challenge of getting it back there.”
The 27 year-old also iterated that promotion is his aim with the Saints, as he continued: “You’re coming to a Premier League football club that’s in the Championship, so the ambition is promotion and nothing else, and that’s exactly what I was looking for as the next move in my career.
“I think it’s the perfect club for me to come to, the ambition is massive and everyone as a collective is working towards getting back to the Premier League.”
Manning will also be reunited with new Southampton manager, Russell Martin under who Manning played for across the last two seasons at Swansea.
On what it means to reunite with Martin, Manning added: “With the gaffer coming here, knowing his style of football and how he wants his team to play, it felt like a perfect fit for me where the club and the manager lined up.”
Martin in turn said: “Firstly, he’s a brilliant character. He’s got a real edge to him. He’s got a fantastic personality, a lot of energy and was a really important member of our group at Swansea, not just on the pitch but off it as well.”
The ex Swansea manager went on to praise Manning for his versatility as he added: “In terms of on the pitch, he’s an outstanding footballer who has a brilliant understanding of what we want.
“He played in a few positions for us previously, and he’s coming here as a left-back because he ended up performing as one of the best left-backs in the division last year.”
Martin though admitted that he had expected Manning to opt for a Premier League club following various interests, as he added that he is “really pleased” that Manning has opted for another season in the Championship and resisted the “lure” of top-flight football.
Leave a Reply