Southampton have a desire to tie down Tonda Eckert to a new contract as their manager continues to attract interest from the Premier League and Serie A.
Following their relegation from the top flight, the Saints brought in Will Still in July 2025 to help them return to the Premier League.
Southampton struggled under Still and showed him the exit door in November 2025. Later that month, Eckert took charge and the English club offered him a contract until 2027.
Last season, the German helped the Championship side finish fourth, four points behind second placed Ipswich Town.
Southampton boss not short of options
However, Southampton missed out on the play-offs after the Spygate scandal. Earlier this month, the Football Association [FA] handed Tonda Eckert a six-week suspended ban plus fine.
That hasn’t stopped him from attracting interest from other clubs. In April, we relayed news of VfB Stuttgart as an option. A month later, Sport Witness covered a report from Germany explaining that Borussia Mönchengladbach had him on their list.
The 33-year-old hasn’t entertained them and is still at St Mary’s. The Saints are now fifth in the table, trailing second placed Swansea City by three points, and are in contention for direct promotion.
Eckert’s work at Southampton isn’t going unnoticed and Sky Sport Austria covers more on this topic.
Manager open to Southampton stay
The former Red Bull Salzburg manager’s work in England has led to ‘significant increase in interest’ and there is ‘strong interest’ from England and Italy.
Several unnamed Premier League sides are keen while clubs from Serie A are also keen. He was the Genoa assistant manager between 2022 and 2025 and speaks Italian fluently.
Tonda Eckert’s contract expires in 2027, and this clearly favours his suitors. The English club want to extend his contract to fend off his suitors, and the report adds the manager is also open to signing an extension.
It’ll now be down to two parties to sort out and finalise the details of the agreement for him to continue at Southampton beyond this season.
Southampton would hope to secure the coach’s renewal soon so that there’s no threat of losing Eckert in the coming months.
Eckert’s record with Southampton
- Matches: 49
- Wins: 29
- Draws: 12
- Losses: 8
- Goals scored: 92
- Goals conceded: 54
