The Swans and Saints were at odds over a compensation package when Russell Martin left Swansea City to join Southampton. The Swans argued that Saints were still in the Premier League, while we countered by stating that we had already been relegated.
This continued until July 1st, when Saints finally appointed Martin on the grounds that this was the day they joined Swansea in the Championship and formally left the Premier League.
The argument stemmed from Martin’s contract having a higher release clause for a Premier League team than for one in a lower division, as Swansea fan site Planet Swans have explained. They also assert that, five months into Martin’s tenure as manager at St Mary’s, the two clubs are still far apart on the amount of compensation.
Swansea is saying that the crucial factor is the timing of the approach—not when he was officially appointed—and that the approach was made while Saints were still playing in the top division.
Saints maintain that although they may have contacted him, they didn’t officially name him until after they had left the elite division.
With the transfer window now less than a month away, the Welsh club is reportedly fighting over a substantial sum of money—roughly £1 million.
In actuality, it was a minor disagreement at the time, but in June Swansea paid his salary and Saints avoided having to pay him for about five weeks.
It has now been made public that neither team can agree on a middle-of-the-road price.
Although Swansea supporters may argue that Southampton is receiving a small amount of money, Swansea is benefiting greatly from the sale of former Saints player Michael Obafemi to Burnley, which brought in exactly the same amount of money ($4.5 million) as Swansea spent during the summer transfer window.
They need every dollar they can get as they anxiously look over their shoulders. Right now, they are comfortably positioned in the middle of the table, 8 points off the play-off spots but, more concerningly, the same amount from the bottom 3.
From Southampton’s point of view, while it is understandable that you want to see the club avoid paying out money that it does not need to, you might also feel that we are not playing fair. While we may have been in compliance with the law on the day he was appointed, you would think that we are at least attempting to find a middle ground.
Reaching an agreement closer to our valuation with an add-on clause stating that we would pay the entire fee in the event of a promotion could be one way to resolve the issue.
Swansea may be encouraged not to put in too much effort in these games if they want to receive top dollar in compensation—though I’m sure they have better ethics than that—by us playing them twice in a month in December and January.
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