Former Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is expected to leave Southampton this summer, it has been claimed. The 26-year-old, who joined Saints from the Gunners for £25million back in August, has been one of their standout performers, though it isn't going to be enough to save them from relegation back to the Championship.

Ramsdale has made the third-most saves in the Premier League (80) this season behind Matz Sels (84) and Mark Flekken (111), and although he has conceded 41 goals in 18 top-flight matches, the defence he has played behind has not helped his cause at all. Southampton sit rock bottom of the Premier League right now and are a mammoth 13 points off 17th-place Wolves, who sit just outside the drop zone.

According to talkSPORT, there is believed to be a relegation release clause in Ramsdale's contract that is going to allow him to depart Saints this summer IF they drop down to the second tier. Even if he didn't, Saints would struggle to afford his reported £120,000 per-week wages in the Championship.

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It's added that Chelsea have a long-standing interest in Ramsdale and could re-ignite that considering their goalkeeping issues right now. Robert Sanchez was dropped by Enzo Maresca after making a string of dire mistakes, while Filip Jorgensen hasn't covered himself in glory since he was promoted to No.1.

Ramsdale could help fix Chelsea's woes in that position, though the Blues do have a number of goalkeepers on their books. Kepa Arrizabalaga is out on loan at Bournemouth and has impressed for the high-flying Cherries, while Djordje Petrovic has enjoyed a fine season on loan at Ligue 1 side Strasbourg.

Mike Penders is set to join Chelsea in July, while Lucas Bergstrom, Marcus Bettinelli and Eddie Beach are among the other goalkeepers they have. Do the Blues need another? That does remain to be seen at this point but Ramsdale could be an adequate solution to their worries in that position.

As for Ramsdale, he left Arsenal last summer after three years at the Emirates Stadium. He had cemented himself as first-choice during the 2021/22 and 2022/23 season before the arrival of David Raya from Brentford saw him drop down to second fiddle, with the England international starting just six Premier League games last term.

And Raya's move to the Gunners is the reason why Ramsdale departed for Southampton. Speaking in October, he told BBC: "If I was sitting on the bench, it [winning a trophy] wouldn’t have meant that much to me.

"I just wanted to play football. As a kid I wanted to play football to play, not to just sit on a bench. Getting out and playing was my aim so I'm lucky I found myself here at Southampton."