Southampton found themselves at the centre of one of the biggest scandals in English football last season.
The club were expelled from the Championship play-offs after being caught spying on opponents Middlesbrough before their semi-final clash.
An EFL investigation later uncovered similar incidents involving Oxford United and Ipswich Town earlier in the campaign.
The investigation concluded that the spying operation was part of a deliberate plan rather than an isolated incident.
Southampton were subsequently removed from the play-offs and handed a four-point deduction for the 2026-27 Championship season.
An appeal against the punishment was later rejected by the EFL.
Meanwhile, the Football Association opened a separate investigation to determine whether further sanctions could follow.
The controversy first came to light when an intern was photographed filming Middlesbrough’s training session on the eve of the first leg.
WhatsApp messages later emerged showing that junior members of staff had raised concerns about the requests they had received.
One staff member admitted they felt unable to refuse because they were only an intern carrying out instructions.
TalkSPORT now reports that Southampton have offered permanent employment to intern Will Salt despite his central role in the scandal.
The 23-year-old has been offered a permanent position within the club’s academy setup.
The report also states that Southampton attempted to remove images of the intern from the internet after the incident emerged.
Meanwhile, owner Dragan Solak has publicly backed manager Tonda Eckert to remain in charge.
The Southampton owner recently insisted that the manager deserved a second chance despite the controversy.
As a result, both the manager and the intern involved in the scandal now appear set to remain at St Mary’s for the foreseeable future.
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