Will Southampton Invoke Extension Option For Ross Stewart
Wednesday, 18th Feb 2026 09:01

Ross Stewart's time so far at Southampton has not been great, that is not the fault of the player himself, after joining with an injury that soon cleared up, he has suffered a series of unrelated injuries, but in recent months he has shown why the club bought him in the first place. With his contract up in the summer, will he stay or will he go !

The first two seasons at St Mary's were not good for Ross Stewart, in his first season he manged just 4 appearances, his second was a little better, 12 Premier League appearances and his first goal for the club in the final game of the season against Arsenal.

This season has also see him miss significant time through injury, but he has played in 15 Championship games and scored 4 goals, plus 2 assists in just 648 minutes on the pitch, a fit Ross Stewart has shown what he can do, but with his contract up this summer, Saints will have a decision to make.

That is because the72.co.uk have reported, the club have an option for a one year extension to the deal.

The decision might well be a difficult one, although on the face of it it looks very cut and dried, that is because a lot will depend on what division that Southampton will be playing in next season.

If the club do not get promoted, then I think it will be an easy decision, we would want a player of his quality in the Championship next season, if he has remained fit and contributed then I think the clause will be invoked.

But if we were to get promotion it could be more tricky, some would say that based on his time at the club in the last 2 2/3 seasons that we should cut our ties now and write it off as a bad deal, but that is based on the past and not what will happen in the next 2 1/2 months.

If we were to be promoted, then there is a good chance that Stewart will have played a big part in that and if he has, then there is a decision to make.

On the face of it a 30 year old with a bad injury record doesn't seem to be good business to succeed in the Premier League and he probably would not be the first choice striker, but if we worded the question differently and assuming that he had say scored 6 goals in the final 14 games of the season and we had the chance to bring in a striker of his quality as back up on a free transfer, we would probably do it.

Essentially that is the situation in the summer do we cut our losses and run or keep him for nothing, I would say that the decision in this scenario would be easy.

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underweststand added 09:20 - Feb 18

As a response to your headline (Nick) ..Saints would be daft not to - don't you think?
The transfer fee was not insignificant, and successive injuries made things worse, but in recent games he's beginning to look like the player we wanted in the beginning.
His input of late has been very good. His " cheeky" opening goal in the 4-3 revival at Leicester (and a couple of assists) showed he still is a force to contend with.
Ironically, the transfer of Adam A. seems to have opened up new opportunities with the arrival of Lerin, and now we have 2 big men available up top for the first time in a decade.

If he stays reasonably fit, is managed well and isn't forced in to 96 minute games every week, I'd say, the answer is the proverbial " no brainer".

kenis added 10:24 - Feb 18

The question is not whether we take the option to extend by a year, that is a no brainer and we should do that no matter what.

The question is do we offer him a new contract of some sort, and under what terms and at whast premier league and championship pay levels? Would he accept for example a 2+1 year option or a 2+1+1 with auto extension based on appearances? Can we afford his wages in the championship if we stay down two plus years with his injury record?

Even if we got promoted and looked to sign three new strikers, not retaining him would be mad, and there is high probability we'd be back in the championship the following year and need him again anyway.

Bowlercow added 12:00 - Feb 18 I would take up the extension and add a 2 year contract to it if we stay in the championship IF promoted take up the option and either cash in in January or offer new 2 year deal then if he has contributed
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SaintPaulVW added 11:28 - Feb 19 From what we have seen he is a very good striker. Just need to manage his playing time. If it's an automatic 1 year, yes take it up and see how he does fitness wise before any further contract.
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