Southampton boss Russell Martin now looks set to add to his midfield following the departures of James Ward-Prowse and Romeo Lavia to West Ham United and Chelsea, according to reports.
Shea Charles, Joe Lumley and Ryan Manning have all joined the South Coast club this window as they aim to win promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt following their relegation last term to the Sky Bet Championship.
What's happening with Flynn Downes?
Last week, TEAMtalk reported that West Ham United had given Southampton the green light to bring in midfielder Flynn Downes on loan, with David Moyes keen to offload the £25k-a-week ace after successfully acquiring Ward-Prowse and Edson Alvarez.
Several clubs expressed interest in offering Downes an escape route from the London Stadium; however, he has elected to link up with his former Swansea City boss Martin, who sees him as a 'key addition' in the engine room for Southampton and is a huge fan of the 24-year-old.
In a recent update from Football Insider, Downes is scheduled to undergo a medical at Southampton on Monday following news that Saints secured a 'breakthrough' in negotiations last weekend. It is now expected that his loan move will be formalised in the next 24 to 48 hours.
Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Middlesbrough are named as the other clubs to have 'registered their interest' in the Brentwood-born star, though he now looks set to be unveiled at St Mary's Stadium imminently.
Speaking to BBC Radio Solent Sport cited via Hampshire Live in the aftermath of Southampton's 4-4 draw with Norwich City in the English second-tier earlier this month, Martin spoke positively of the impact he feels Downes can have under his stewardship, stating: "An outstanding player [Downes], a favourite with the supporters and players at Swansea and I expect him to be exactly the same here.”
What is Downes good at?
Downes has all the hallmarks of a player that can play a big part for Southampton in their promotion push this season and will be aided by the fact he gained plenty of experience in the top flight in 2022/23.
Last term, Downes featured 35 times in all competitions for West Ham United, nine of which came in their ultimately successful Europa Conference League triumph, as per Transfermarkt.
Previously labelled as "brilliant" by former England international Carlton Palmer in an interview with Football League World last year, the former England Under-20 cap was tidy in possession over the course of last campaign, maintaining a pass success rate of 88.2% in the Premier League, according to WhoScored.
In comparison to his positional peers across Europe's top five divisions, Downes has excelled in the art of making blocks, successfully carrying out around 1.77 per 90 minutes across the last 365 days at the time of writing, putting him in the 92nd percentile for this metric, as per FBRef.
Given their dearth of numbers in the engine room owing to some high-profile departures at St Mary's, Southampton boss Martin will be relieved that Downes' deal to join the club on loan is now nearing completion.