Southampton’s managing director Toby Steele has resigned from his role and is working a notice period.
Steele joined the club as their finance director in 2016 before becoming managing director a year later.
With Steele’s departure, Mike Fenn, who has been with the club for 20 years, is expected to step up as new chief financial officer.
Advertisement
Steele’s exit adds him to a notable list of senior figures who intend to leave — or have already left — the club.
As revealed by The Athletic, Matt Crocker, the director of football of operations, is to leave this summer, while David Thomas, the former commercial director, left earlier this year.
Dan Rice, Southampton’s head of youth recruitment, is another important figure behind the scenes taking a new role.
Rice is joining Everton as their head of emerging talent, focusing on recruiting players between the ages of 16-21.
Steele is an integral figure behind the scenes at Southampton and is key to the day-to-day running of the club.
Steele’s role in controlling the finances made him crucial to player recruitment, with the outgoing managing director forming part of the transfer committee.
His departure is being viewed by sources as a significant blow and it may come as a surprise to some club employees.
Steele would often take part in fan forums and is a recognisable figure among supporters.
There have been multiple departures since Sport Republic bought Southampton in January 2022.
They are yet to replace Joe Shields, their former head of recruitment, who joined last summer but then left for Chelsea not long after.
Several individuals have left the data department, including Alex Kleyn, their lead data scientist, who is set to join Manchester United.
Southampton are currently bottom of the Premier League table, four points adrift of safety, and will play Arsenal on Friday night.
GO DEEPER
Southampton's ‘playbook’ was designed for success – but failing of first team is undermining it
(Photo: Getty Images)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57k21pcHBjbXxzfJFsZmlsX2d9cMDOm7Bmq6Sasq2xjKucrKGXo8Buv86uq6GZnaXBsLqO