'Laid back' - Shea Charles said exactly what Southampton fans wanted to hear

Shea Charles has just said exactly what Southampton fans wanted to hear about the midfielder’s long-term Saints future.

Shea Charles performances for Northern Ireland has been a rare source of excitement for Southampton fans amid a boring international break. The 22-year-old has been the standout Saints international across the past week.

As a result, expectations will be sky high from him for the April Championship run-in. But that’s not to say that Charles hasn’t sealed a Premier League promotion before. During Southampton’s successful promotion in 2023/24 season, Charles was a starter for large parts of the season but he wasn’t the finished product in midfield.

Saints marched on to the playoffs and won the semifinals and final without relying on Charles back then. This time, Charles has a bigger role on his shoulders. The Northern Irishman is an integral part of Tonda Eckert’s midfield going forward that also features star players like Finn Azaz, Caspar Jander and Flynn Downes.

Southampton fans don’t want Shea Charles exit

It’s no secret that midfield is the strongest area at Southampton. Azaz, Jander and Downes are players who have always excelled in a Saints shirt so fans are naturally worried by their exit rumours.

The Saints are one of the biggest feeder clubs for Premier League teams. That status won’t just change overnight. One by one, if not multiple players at once, the club will keep offloading and replacing top talents across the first team.

Shea Charles name might be the first one on this Southampton exit list. The 22-year-old box-to-box midfielder will soon enter into the final twelve months of his contract in June. Southampton do hold a one year extension on top of it but players nowadays have more say on transfers than clubs.

Shea Charles transfer stance will please Southampton fans

If Shea Charles wants out, Southampton will soon be left with the 2026 summer transfer window and the 2027 winter window to recoup as much transfer fee they can from his sale. Positively, that’s not the case with him.

In his own words, the Daily Echo quoted Shea Charles transfer views: “It’s background noise for me, really. I’ve got my contract here, and at the moment, I’m really just pushing to get promoted this season. I’m quite a laid-back guy. I don’t really think too much about stuff.”

Reading between Charles comments, it’s a fair assumption to expect him not jumping ship for the first Premier League offer coming his way. Adapting to top-flight football at St. Mary’s will suit Shea Charles too. Afterwards, he can prefer a massive Premier League move to a team like Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea among others.

In the meantime there’s an FA Cup home tie against Arsenal to look forward to. Southampton have played a few close games with Mikel Arteta’s Gunners in the past, although the Saints have lost more often than not.

Arsenal are not in the best shape right now in terms of injuries. Despite that, they are Arsenal at the end of the day. Their fans are confident about beating Southampton and reaching the FA Cup semis just like multiple football pundits.

Can Southampton pull an upset over Arsenal to sweeten the 50 year anniversary of the 1976 FA Cup title further? Only time will tell.