As the Spygate hearing stretches into it's 5th day without any verdict yet, after the rumours of a potential replacement for the German, should he be given a ban, there is one member of the squad who would be doubly unhappy.

Finn Azaz has been a key player for Southampton since he joined from Middlesbrough in August 2025.

Initially he struggled at St Mary's under Will Still, failing to register either a goal or an assist in his first 10 outings, but when Tonda Eckert took over he immediately blossomed.

He starred in Eckert's opening 7 game burst where 6 of those games were won and just the 1 defeat, scoring 6 times plus 3 assists.

On reflection it is clear that when Finn Azaz was on form, so where Southampton and he ended the season with 10 Championship goals and 7 assists and he has started this season in a similar vein.

In just 8 Championship games he has scored 3 goals and added 4 assists to that tally, but a very telling stat is that in total he has created 16 goal scoring opportunities, a tally only beaten by one other player in the division.

But if Rob Edwards arrives at St Mary's one player who won't be happy is Azaz himself.

Edwards was appointed Middlesbrough boss in the summer of 2025 and Azaz would play just twice for him, his first game coming off the bench for a 21 minute cameo and providing an assist and in his second game he would score the opening goal of a 2-1 victory over Norwich.

All of this coming after the previous season in the Championship where in 45 games he scored 12 times and had 11 assists, you could see why Southampton would want to buy him and why Middlesbrough would want to keep him.

Last season and this, Azaz is THE key man in the Southampton side, Cyle Larin might get the goals, but it is Azaz who calls the shots and the man who makes us tick, not just in terms of goals and assists, but in the little things that nobody notices.

By that I mean the times that he will take a short pass in his stride and move it quickly, often turning defence into attack or how he will win the ball and lay it short quickly got someone else to do so.

He is the type of player that doesn't always get the credit he deserves, he is not a player who swaggers around the pitch, he just gets the job done, older fans will remember the days when Steve Williams took all the praise, being the golden boy, but it was Nick Holmes of Dave Armstrong who did the grafting and not only scored goals but created chances.

But there was a reason why Azaz wanted away from Boro and that was he did not get on with the new manager and after only two months of working under him, it was clear that there was an issue between manager and player.

Azaz had shown that he was key to Boro in his two appearances under Edwards, it was not a footballing clash, but seemingly a clash of personalities.

So on the face of it many Southampton supporters would be feeling a little better over the weekend with the news that Rob Edwards could well be the man to replace Eckert if it was necessary, he was a manager with the track record that we needed.

However given how important Finn Azaz is to the way Saints play, could this be a real problem if Edwards was to be appointed, not only in the short term whilst both have to work together, but in the longer term where Azaz might not want to play under Edwards and the transfer window re opens in January.

Via Reuters