Southampton FC have confirmed the signing of goalkeeper Daniel Peretz, on loan until the end of the 2025/26 season.
The 25-year-old joins the Championship side for the remainder of the season from Bayern Munich, having spent the first half of the campaign at Bundesliga club Hamburger SV.
Peretz, keen to push this move through, reportedly sat out of training at HSV, in an attempt for the German side to terminate his loan.
Peretz is set to become the Saints’ number one goalkeeper, replacing one of the Championship’s poorest goalkeepers, Gavin Bazunu.
So in what ways is Peretz an upgrade on the Irishman?
“I think I am really balanced in my goalkeeper type. I really like to play with my feet and help my team, I like to be aggressive on crosses and to defend the space.
“I don’t want to speak too much before – I want to show it on the pitch from the first day.”
Those are the words of Daniel Peretz himself, upon joining Southampton.
This season, Saints as an outfit, with Gavin Bazunu and Alex McCarthy both having stints in goal, have a save percentage of just 60.2% – and have prevented the fewest goals in the Championship.
Gavin Bazunu, whilst a great goalkeeper when playing out with his feet, is a poor shot-stopper, while Alex McCarthy is a below-par distributor and average shot-stopper.
Saints need that sweet spot between the two – and Peretz looks to be just that!
The Saints have really lacked having a goalkeeper with physical presence – and as Peretz says himself, he likes to defend the space.
The 6’3″ shot-stopper idolises goalkeeping legend Manuel Neuer, and has learnt plenty from working with the Bayern Munich icon:
“I’ve said in a lot in a lot of interviews that he was my role model since I started playing football,” Peretz said.
“When I was 10 I started to watch his YouTube clips and every game of him – every save, every pass. I had posters of him in my room!
“At 23 I was signing for Bayern Munich and I got to know him. For me he is the greatest of all time, but he’s an even better person and better character, and he welcomed me amazingly.
“From the first day he made me feel at home. He also gave me a lot of tips, and just from looking at him, with the way he behaves outside of the pitch, on the pitch, some habits he has, his mentality – you can learn so much just from being with him.”
In his first Saints interview Peretz continued: “I’m really happy to make this move to Southampton, it’s a great club in a good league and I’m really looking forward to getting started.
“I want to help the team to get back in the Premier League. Although it’s a tough goal, I think it’s realistic. There are a lot of games to go.”
The recently relegated side feel as if they should be good enough to reach the top flight again, but the Saints must improve.
The club currently sits 15th in the Championship – can Peretz help save their season?
The Israeli is almost certainly an upgrade on what Southampton have in goal.
