In the latter part of last season Oriol Romeu found himself not always in the starting XI despite being one of the mainstays of the side in the past few years, however despite starting the season opener he played no part against Leeds on Saturday, now it seems he could be on his way.

Oriol Romeu has been one of our most consistent performers over the past few years and that was the case last season, but with only a year left on his contract it seems Saints are in two minds whether to offer him a new deal.

To not do so would seem madness as although he will turn 31 in September, he is still one of the better players in the side and perhaps even more importantly one of the more experienced one.

But it seems that he has admirers with Girona manager "Michel" claiming that signing Romeu is a wish of his.

The news comes from Cadena SER journalist Nil Solà, who took to Twitter to reveal that Girona have taken an interest in the player, and there are now ‘open negotiations’ between the two sides.

However there is a stumbling block and that is what is described as the "Economic Aspect" and that is that Girona haven't got the money to match his wages at St Mary's.

For his part Romeu has recently stated that he is very happy at Southampton and that he owes a great deal to the club, certainly he has been one of the best signings of the last 10 years, costing only £5 million when he arrived from Chelsea back in 2015, he has now started 186 Premier League games plus another 31 off the bench scoring 7 goals in the process.

Add another 38 appearances in Cup competitions and £ for £ Romeu has to be one of the bargains of the century for Saints.

I would hope that this is no more than journalists and agents trying to make up stories, Romeu still has a part to play at this club and it would be good to see him sign a new deal this season.

Photo: Action Images

I_would added 16:16 - Aug 16 Should be letting Prowsey go, he hasn't done much so far this season, doesn't seem to have much pace in his free kicks and corners. Romeu, although not great at AM is a more effective holding MF and better at breaking things up in the middle as he has more strength on the ball. Minuses welcome from rose-tinted collective hysteria victims please. Don't let incontrovertible facts get in the way of self-deceptive fantasy .

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Colburn added 16:37 - Aug 16 If we play our preferred 4-2-2-2 then with JWP as captain there is only one place left and having bought Lavia, we have to play him and develop him. So I see Ralph using Romeu as more of a back up to the other two and with his age not helping, perhaps they have decided to let him go and play from the start elsewhere. I agree Romeu has been one of our best signings since our return and if he is to go, will be remembered as a bit of a legend. The worst thing would be for him to play beyond his time and have the fans on his back for his last games. Perhaps this means more development with Garner? I am amazed that Utd are willing to let him go but he will get better offers than Saints so perhaps not. Whatever Romeu has been magnificent for us and a top human being too.

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saint_ben added 16:40 - Aug 16 @I_would are you ok? JWP was our top scorer last season. If we lost him we would be in real trouble. Your comment is absolutley ridiculous!
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Sadoldgit added 16:54 - Aug 16 No Prowsey hasn’t done much….apart from putting us 1 up at Spurs and is currently a joint top scorer. Anyway, hopefully Oriol will stay for another season. The guy is quality and has been an excellent servant to the club. We talk about experience and he has it in spades. Would be a good mentor for the youngsters and can still put a shift in on the pitch.
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AmericanSaint added 16:59 - Aug 16 I would hate to see OR go, but I understand and if he wants to go back to Spain, then we should send him off with blessings. He has been our most solid, consistent player overall for the last 5+ years. He brings a toughness in the midfield that we do not have in a backup. So many times I remember him being the disruptor and enforcer in the midfield against the bigger teams, that is made them change their game plan. Hope he stays, but if he goes, let's cheer for him and always remember the good times.

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kevleykeegle added 17:08 - Aug 16 I would - he hasn’t done much ‘so far this season.’ This season being two games, one where he scored. You are such a w*****
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landsdownsaint added 17:51 - Aug 16 If OR mobility was a little bit more he’s be world class but that don’t bother me I think he’s great just the way he is
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IanRC added 18:30 - Aug 16 This is a very tough one. He has been an outstanding servant to the club and incredibly effective in the disrupter role. He also has a great reader of the game a good eye for a pass and has built a great relationship with Prowsey. That said I did feel last season that he had lost some of his pace and that he was caught a little too often. Clearly Lavia is the future, until City come asking for him back (how long do we have him for), but maybe there is a role as a sub to sure things up. If he does go he will go with my best wishes.

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livsgrandad added 19:04 - Aug 16 We should have a mega back up should we even entertain letting Oriol go anywhere.......he's been a mainstay in our side for years,and continues to be.....if its true that he's open to a move back home to see his career out,then wish him well ,he's earnt his money with us, and has been worth every penny.. I hope you dont go Oriol , but the best of luck and good wishes for your future ,if you do.

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GRIM added 19:28 - Aug 16 To my knowledge Lavia is our player & has signed a 5 yr contract. If Man City come back for him they'll have to Shell out big bucks. If OR goes he'll be remembered as a legend, he's been the glue that has held our midfield together for many seasons. He's provided the physicality that Saints have been lacking, hence all the yellow cards. I think he'll leave a big void at the club if he goes but as others have said he's in the latter stages of his career so we need to prepare ourselves to manage without him at some stage.

3

Block8 added 19:37 - Aug 16 He is a super footballer and is as stated earlier perhaps a yard or two of pace from being brilliant. He probably is aware of maybe a reduced amount of game time this season and if he is happy to remain, I can't think of a better player to bring on to help hold onto a lead!
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TeamCortese added 11:30 - Aug 17 Agree with GRIM (sorry I clicked down by accident!) and the other comments. OR has been a brilliant signing and very loyal to the club. I wish him all the best if the rumours are true. That being said, in a more ideal situation, I think we should keep him for at least one more season to rotate with Lavia. We don't want Lavia burning out (he is 18 yrs after all!). If we get Garner then he'll definitely add extra competition to the midfield (that includes JWP). For me, the longer term play should be to have Garner as JWP's longer-term replacement--especially when a big offer comes in--and Lavia to replace Romeu. Still think Diallo and Smallbone have a future but need to prove themselves with regular game time. Diallo could do with a stint on loan at a decent Championship for a season I think.

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I_would added 12:43 - Aug 17 Thanks everyone for confirming (By way of minus votes) that my observations regarding Prowsey were spot on.
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saint_ben added 12:52 - Aug 17 @I_would Are you really that thick? only a pompey fan would come out with such a stupid comment. Remove him @admin
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I_would added 13:17 - Aug 17 Well Ben. If Prowsey were to speed up, keep up with the attacking play, be ready to receive the ball in advanced areas, learn to tackle, stop watching the ball, actually create some winning crosses, put some pace into his crosses, stop hitting the nearest man on corners, stop tamely kicking to the GK on corners and actually do Captains duties like organising and motivating junior players I wouldn't have a thing to complain about would I? If people were to stop deluding themselves and overrating him to the point of ludicrosity I wouldn't have to keep balancing the view would I? Let's face it he's had one lucky scuff into the ground so far this season which the GK didn't save because he took him by surprise by miss-kicking it. Also his free-kicks and corners have tamely come to nothing as it looks like he can't get any pace on the ball any more. With your views regarding banning people for having a different opinion to yourself I would imaging you would have to be a Trump supporter or maybe a closet Nazi. If you would be good enough to explain to me what Prowsey has done so far in the last two games, apart from the lucky scuffed goal which didn't produce any points, it would be much appreciated.

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Hamnottingham added 16:50 - Aug 17 OR has been superb for us. I always rated him over Victor, as he had so much more to his game. We all rate him for breaking up play etc, but it is his availability for an out ball at any time for the defence that makes him a cut above, along with knowing where the ball is going to go next before he receives it. As others have said, just pace lets him down, otherwise he would have been a 'big 6' player.

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