RUSSELL Martin described Flynn Downes as a 'winner' after the midfielder completed his loan move to Saints.

Downes, who previously played under Martin at Swansea City, finalised his much-anticipated switch to St Mary's on Monday.

He arrives having only managed 753 minutes in the Premier League for the Hammers last season, while also helping them win the Europa Conference League.

The 24 year old had hoped to complete his transfer to the south coast before Saints' game against Plymouth Argyle last Saturday but was unable to do so due to a bout of food poisoning.

Speaking to Southampton's official website, Martin said: "He's a brilliant character, he's a winner, someone who's aggressive and a brilliant athlete too. 

“We've got a great relationship, myself, (Matt) Gilly, him and the rest of the staff, so he knows what he's coming into.

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"That will speed him up because he knows the work and he's done it before.

“He's a real winner, a brilliant teammate and someone who's got a lot of quality on the ball, which is obviously why West Ham took him to the Premier League.

"I think he feels really hungry to get playing football again because he hasn't played as much as he would have liked in the last year.

“So he has hunger, he has character, he has a lot of talent and he has a lot of physicality as well.

“He was a massive favourite with the players, the staff and the fans at Swansea and I'm sure he'll be the same here.”