(foto: Getty Images)
Will Salt, the Southampton intern at the center of the Championship spying scandal, has reportedly been offered a permanent role at the club despite the controversy that cost Saints a place in the playoff final.
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Southampton have reportedly offered a permanent position to academy analyst Will Salt, the intern whose role in the club's "Spygate" scandal led to one of the biggest controversies of last season.
According to the Daily Mail, the 23-year-old has been offered a full-time role despite his involvement in the spying operation that ultimately saw Southampton expelled from the Championship playoffs and denied a place in the Wembley final.
Salt admitted during an EFL disciplinary hearing that he had carried out surveillance missions on the instructions of head coach Tonda Eckert. He told the panel he felt he had no realistic option but to follow the orders he was given.
The scandal became public after Salt was caught filming Middlesbrough's training session while hiding behind a tree. The investigation later uncovered WhatsApp messages showing the intern had been placed under significant pressure by senior figures at the club.
The written findings from the EFL investigation painted a damaging picture. They concluded that Eckert was dissatisfied with the initial footage from Middlesbrough and instructed Salt to travel earlier for additional surveillance. Senior analysts, the club's operations manager, and Eckert were all involved in planning the missions.
Messages also revealed that after spying on Oxford United, Salt received praise from colleagues, including one message reading, "You legend. Manager loved it."
The EFL also found that chief executive Phil Parsons initially misled investigators by claiming no senior staff had ordered the surveillance. Southampton later admitted that Eckert had instructed scouting operations involving Oxford United, Ipswich Town, and Middlesbrough before issuing a public apology.
The investigation gathered further evidence through electronic records after Salt used his personal bank card to buy coffee near Middlesbrough's training ground. The transaction helped investigators establish his location, while mobile phone records placed him near several rival clubs' facilities during the season.
Despite the scandal, Southampton retained Eckert as head coach after he received the backing of club owner Dragan Šolak. The coach later released an eight-minute public apology.
"I think you deserve that. For everything that's happened, I do want to apologize, and I hold my hand up because, as a head coach, I am responsible. I am responsible for everything that has happened in this football club," Eckert said in the video.
If the reports are accurate, Salt's appointment is likely to divide opinion among Southampton supporters, with many still frustrated by the scandal that overshadowed the club's promotion campaign.