Latest update on Tonda Eckert's future at Southampton

Southampton's impressive end to the 2025/26 campaign was overshadowed by news that the club had spied on Middlesbrough ahead of their play-off fixtures. A hearing found out that Southampton's head coach, Tonda Eckert, approved of the spying on their opponents, which saw the Saints thrown out of the play-offs.

As a result, Southampton missed out on a golden opportunity to return to the Premier League, and the club will remain in the Championship, going into next season.

With the Spygate saga being one of the biggest talking points the Championship has seen in years, it has cast doubt over Eckert's future with the club.

Reports have stated that despite the players being left disappointed regarding the spying, which was approved by Eckert, the squad are believed to be in favour of their German boss remaining at the football club.

Eckert also faces potential FA charges due to his signing off on the spying, which could be a sideline ban, a fine, or other punishments.

During the hearing, the Saints were found to have spied on multiple opponents throughout the season, which helped the club gain an advantage over opposition sides.

The Saints ended the season unbeaten in their last 21 league games, and since 4 January, they have lost just one game, which was against Manchester City in the FA Cup.

After the squad ended the season extremely impressively, multiple clubs could be interested in some of their stars.

Names being linked with potential moves away include: Leo Scienza, Finn Azaz, Shea Charles and Taylor Harwood-Bellis.

With players missing out on promotion bonuses and a wage increase, the failure to gain promotion could lead to some players looking for moves elsewhere.

With the EFL Championship play-off final being dubbed as 'the most expensive game in football', Southampton have missed out on potentially over £200 million.

Fans, owners and staff members will no doubt be left angered by the news of the spygate saga, which has had detrimental effects on the Saints.

Eckert's future is up in the air, but one thing is for sure: he won't be spying on opponents again.