Southamp­ton have a goal­keep­er on loan who could rival Gavin Bazunu for the num­ber-one spot next sea­son.

Rus­sell Martin‘s side have been pret­ty leaky at the back this term and there’s cer­tain­ly room to improve in between the sticks.

Bazunu is still a very young goal­keep­er hav­ing only cel­e­brat­ed his 22nd birth­day in Feb­ru­ary, so per­haps to sure up defen­sive­ly, a more expe­ri­enced shot-stop­per could enter the fold.

That’s where Mateusz Lis, who has been enjoy­ing a stel­lar sea­son at Turk­ish out­fit Gozte­pe, comes into the frame.

Mateusz Lis could rival Gavin Bazunu for number-one spot

Southamp­ton signed Lis in the sum­mer of 2022 from Altay SK on a free trans­fer, though, since arriv­ing on the south coast, he’s yet to make a senior appear­ance.

The 28-year-old spent last sea­son on loan at Ligue 1 out­fit Troyes but was named on the bench for much of the cam­paign.

Lis was shipped out on loan again last sum­mer, this time mak­ing the switch to Gozte­pe, who reside in the sec­ond tier of Turk­ish foot­ball.

The TFF first divi­sion out­fit cur­rent­ly sit sec­ond and look well-placed to gain pro­mo­tion to the Super Lig.

Lis has been a major rea­son for their suc­cess hav­ing kept a whop­ping 16 clean sheets and he is cur­rent­ly on a run of sev­en in a row.

With such form, it wouldn’t at all be sur­pris­ing if Southamp­ton opt to keep him at the club for next sea­son, rather than send­ing him back out on a tem­po­rary or per­ma­nent deal.

The tow­er­ing 6ft 3 keep­er has been capped at youth lev­el by Poland and has expe­ri­ence play­ing in the Super Lig and Ligue 1, so clear­ly he has pedi­gree.

Russell Martin faces a tough decision

Mar­tin will be met with a tough deci­sion to make in the sum­mer. Does he place his trust in Bazunu once more or give the impres­sive loa­nee a shot?

Per­haps a lot will depend on what divi­sion Southamp­ton end up in. One would assume should they book their place in the Pre­mier League, they’ll be in the mar­ket for a more expe­ri­enced and sea­soned goal­keep­er who has plied his trade in one of the lead­ing five leagues.

Though, should they remain in the Cham­pi­onship anoth­er year, it could allow Lis the chance to fight for the num­ber one spot.

With 10 games of the gru­elling cam­paign remain­ing, Southampton’s des­tiny is still in the bal­ance and they can’t afford any more slip-ups.

The South Coast­ers resume action after the inter­na­tion­al break against Mid­dles­brough, who still have an out­side chance of reach­ing the play-offs.

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