Southampton FC open to Adam Armstrong sale – Ipswich, Norwich and Stoke should pounce
Southampton are preparing for a return to the Championship now under the management of Will Still. The English-Belgian coach, formerly of Lens and Stade de Reims, is aiming to put his own mark on the Saints’ squad.
One of the more surprising decisions that he may well be about to take is sanctioning the sale of Adam Armstrong, with Southampton said to be open to the departure of the 28-year-old, according to Alfie House, speaking to BBC Radio Solent.
The Newcastle United academy graduate joined Southampton in the summer of 2021 for a fee believed to be in the region of £15 million from Blackburn Rovers, but had struggled to be a threat in the Premier League.
However, as Saints gained promotion via the play-offs in 2024, he was their top scorer with 21 goals in 46 appearances, having previously been a lethal operator at Championship level at Rovers.
With Armstrong now seemingly on the market, and his age suggesting he is by no means over the hill, Football League World has looked at three clubs who should be pouncing on a move for the former Coventry City, Barnsley and Bolton Wanderers loanee.
Ipswich Town
Having come down from the Premier League alongside Southampton last season, it may seem like a fairly unambitious move by Ipswich to go for Armstrong, but it would actually be a seemingly perfect fit.
A versatile attacker who has played both out-wide and down the middle in a slick, passing style of football, that is the ideal profile for Kieran McKenna’s Tractor Boys, who would likely create chances at will for Armstrong.
Ipswich’s transfer policy last season appeared to revolve around signing players that have lit up the Championship in recent seasons, such as Jaden Philogene, Sammie Szmodics, Jacob Greaves, Jack Clarke and Chiedozie Ogbene, with Armstrong another potentially falling into that category. The hurdle might be Southampton selling to a direct automatic promotion rival, but if the money is right, it will do a lot of heavy lifting.
Norwich City
Ipswich’s ‘Old Farm Derby’ rivals Norwich may well be another team looking to make an ambitious swoop for Armstrong, who has 79 Championship goals to his name during his career.
The Canaries have recently appointed Liam Manning and Manning’s system and style again seems to suit the profile of Armstrong, with Manning likely to prepare a 3-5-2 or a 3-4-1-2 and that very much suiting Armstrong, who formed a good partnership in a similar shape with Che Adams a couple of years ago.
Norwich have been busy this summer already as they target a return to the Premier League and finding a banker source of goals, such as Armstrong, will be high on their list should either Borja Sainz or Josh Sargent depart – or even if they stay.
Stoke City
In the last few seasons, Stoke could be accused of a scatter-gun approach in terms of their recruitment and their relative big spending has not reaped the rewards, but it has still shown ambition under the ownership of the Coates family.
With Mark Robins now at the helm, though, Stoke are likely to have a more cohesive and organised setup moving forward, having avoided relegation on the final day of the campaign.
Armstrong and Robins didn’t quite cross paths at Coventry, with the former enjoying a loan spell a year before the latter arrived, but it could well be a match-up that was always bound to happen, and the Potters may be the beneficiaries, with Robins capable of getting the best out of strikers, most notably with Viktor Gyokeres.
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