Defensive pair sign for Southampton as rebuild process continues at St Mary's
New Zealand centre back and Welsh fullback unveiled at Staplewood training ground after signing from West Ham and Swansea respectively
Winston Reid, 25, and Ben Davies, 20, become the latest additions to Southampton squad
Pair join Tim Cahill, who joined The Saints earlier this week
Winston Reid and Ben Davies were officially unveiled as new Southampton players following their moves from West Ham United and Swansea City late last night. The pair, who both play at international level for their countries, were unveiled in front of journalists at the Southampton training ground this morning, after agreeing deals in the late hours of last night. Reid and Davies had medicals at the club last week.
Heading South: Winston Reid makes the switch from London to the South coast after agreeing to contract terms last night
Following their official unveiling this morning (09:00 GMT), Reid was pulled aside by a reporter for Southampton's official website, and told them: "Ronald Koeman is a great manager, and has coached some great sides. No disrespect to Sam Allardyce and West Ham United, but Southampton are a club that shows a lot of promise, and that is something that I want to be a part of. Of course they sold the three players earlier this month, but they are working extremely hard to replace them, and to improve the quality of the squad on a whole. I'd like to thank West Ham for the time I spent with them, but am now fully committed to Southampton."
Reid signs for The Saints for a fee believed to be just under £5 million, and the New Zealand captain was keen to join the rest of the squad in training, instantly striking up a friendship with Croatian centre back Dejan Lovren, whom is likely to be his partner in the coming season.
Ben Davies signs from Swansea City after accepting a four year contract with The Saints, for a fee believed to be in the region of £8 million. The 20-year-old is considered by many as a big prospect and the fullback has already made 5 appearances for the Welsh national team. Davies is considered to be Luke Shaw's natural replacement at Southampton, despite the Manchester United and England defender being two years younger than him.
The Welshman, who is a supporter of fellow Premier League club Arsenal was a reported target of Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal's North London rivals just last week, but no bid was made.
The two players will be keen to impress Koeman, both in training and in the pre-season friendlies that are ongoing, and we are sure to see more names coming in for Southampton in the coming weeks, with a big amount of money left over from the sales of Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw earlier this month.