Southampton sign defender Ryan Manning for free in first signing of Russell Martin’s tenure as Irishman follows former Swansea boss to south coast
- Ryan Manning joins Southampton on a free transfer after leaving Swansea
- The defender pens a four-year deal to link up with old Swans boss Russell Martin
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Southampton have signed Ryan Manning on a free transfer as the full-back follows his former Swansea manager Russell Martin to St Mary’s.
The 27-year-old has penned a four-year deal and becomes Martin’s first signing for Saints after his contract in Wales expired.
Manning spent three years at Swansea playing a passing style of football, the final two under Martin.
He has six caps for the Republic of Ireland, though the most recent of those came in March 2022.
He said: ‘I’m absolutely delighted to be here. 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.
Ryan Manning has joined Southampton on a free transfer after his Swansea contract expired
Russell Martin joined Southampton in June and worked with Manning, 27, at Swansea
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‘You’re coming to a Premier League football club that’s in the Championship, so the ambition is promotion and nothing else.
‘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.’
Last season, Manning was on fire with five goals and ten assists from the left flank.
Southampton know that they will lose lots of first-team players this summer and are building a side who can gain promotion from the Championship.
Last month, the Hampshire outfit appointed Russell Martin on a three-year deal.
On Manning’s signing, Martin said: ‘Firstly, he’s a brilliant character. He’s got a real edge to him, a lot of energy and was a really important member of our group at Swansea.
‘On the pitch, he’s an outstanding footballer who has a brilliant understanding of what we want. We’ve beaten competition from two clubs in the Premier League for him, which I’m really pleased about, because I thought the lure of that would make it difficult for us.’
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