
Southampton went unbeaten in their final 19 Championship games to climb into the top six and enter the play-offs this weekend as the in-form side.
Tonda Eckert’s side last lost in the league back on January 17, and the subsequent mammoth run saw them beat champions Coventry City away from home and come within minutes of beating second-placed Ipswich Town in the penultimate game of the season.
Also in 2026, Southampton made a deep run to the FA Cup semi-finals, where they took a lead against Manchester City but couldn’t hold out to cause another one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history. Before then, they’d beaten Premier League leaders Arsenal in the quarter-finals.
That loss against Pep Guardiola’s side is their only one in the last 23 games in all competitions. Indeed, the Saints have been borderline unstoppable in 2026, and the two loan signings they made in the winter transfer window, goalkeeper Daniel Peretz and frontman Cyle Larin, have both contributed massively towards that.
Buy clauses outlined for key Southampton loan duo
Despite only being at St Mary’s for a few months, both Peretz and Larin have quickly established themselves as fan favourites.
Peretz, who arrived from Bayern Munich in the early stages of the winter window, kept seven clean sheets in 20 league games for the Saints, and saved plenty more points at times, too. Per Fotmob, his 6.54 goals prevented are only bettered by Carl Rushworth, despite playing just half the season.
Meanwhile, Larin came in from RCD Mallorca on deadline day, but he didn’t arrive with too much fanfare, nor a perfect scoring record, especially given that he was the replacement for perennial Championship goalscorer Adam Armstrong.
But the Canadian has outscored his seasonal tallies in both of his previous two La Liga campaigns in just 16 Championship appearances, of which only nine have been starts. His eight goals in 16 second-tier games have helped drive the Saints up the table, and he’s yet to lose a league game since the loan switch.
Understandably, Southampton hopes that both will stay around, and that will be a formality if they prevail in the play-offs.
The Sun’s Jack Rosser reported, via X, that, per the obligation in the loan deal, the Saints will sign Larin for £3.4 million if they are promoted. Shortly after that, BBC Radio Solent’s Adam Blackmore stated that Peretz is in the same boat.
While Blackmoore’s tweet didn’t specify a fee, it was widely reported at the time of Peretz’s arrival that Southampton had an €8 million buy option.
Promotion is now even more vital for Southampton after Daniel Peretz and Cyle Larin revelations
While Rosser explained that Southampton still hold interest in making Larin’s deal permanent, even if they do remain in the Championship, they can avoid other clubs trying to outmuscle them in negotiations if they do go up. And the same will likely ring true for Peretz.
If Southampton do not go up, can you still see Cyle Larin and Daniel Peretz signing permanently? Let us know in the comments.
If they do not go up, you can imagine that there’ll be teams in the Premier League or in other top European leagues who will be keen to add either Peretz or Larin to their squads in the summer, and they’d be more of an attractive destination than a Southampton side in the Championship.
So, if promotion via the play-offs wasn’t already a must for the Saints anyway, there’s now a little bit more riding on it.
Southampton take on Middlesbrough in a highly anticipated semi-final, with the first leg taking place on Saturday at the Riverside, and the return leg at St Mary’s being played next Tuesday. The winner will take on either Millwall or Hull City at Wembley for a place in the Premier League.







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