After the Xmas period Saints find themselves effectively 11 points from safety due to our abysmal goal difference, so is the time nigh when we have to write off this season and start planning for the next and that means cashing in on Kyle Walker Peters.

Kyle Walker Peters is out of contract in the summer and as it stands the likelihood is that he will not sign a new contract and will leave after 5 years at St Mary's for nothing.

Undoubtably he has been one of our better players in this dismal season and he has played his heart out in the last 3 games and clearly we would be a far worse side without him in it.

But we have to take a reality check and that is that with a tough home game against Brentford this weekend followed by 2 potentially tougher away games at Manchester United (No jokes here, you just know that by the time we play them, they will be in Champions League form) & Nottingham Forest after that, by 19th January survival may look virtually impossible.

So is this going to be the point when we write this season off and plan for next, if so that means getting what we can now for Kyle Walker Peters.

He is currently valued at around the £20 million mark, so to lose him for zero in the summer is a big chunk out of a potential transfer kitty for the Championship, that being the case so we cash in now and get what we can, even if it is only a fraction of his value at say somewhere between £10-15 million.

That would be better than nothing in the circumstances, at the end of the day relegation is relegation, if you go down it doesn't matter whether you were 1 points behind 17th spot and safety, or 20.

But the difference in a transfer kitty of 0 or £15 million is a big chunk.

If we do cash in on KWP then some would be up in arms, accusing us of a lack of ambition etc, but I would see it as the club finally waking up to the situation, no Southampton supporter likes to see a good player leave, but the reality is whatever the situation every player has his price and for most clubs in the Premier League the trick to succeed is that you have to know when to sell.

So when will that moment be, will be be proactive or will we stick our heads in the sand and pretend that this isn't happening.

The board of Southampton FC stuck their hands in the sand back in September when it was quite clear that Russell Martin's tactics were not working and that he was not going to adapt them or change one iota.

They cannot change that now, their dithering then cost us any chance of survival, this season is nearly done for us, to sit back and pretend otherwise would be folly of our board.

Kyle Walker Peters has been a great player for Southampton FC, he should go with the thanks of the fans ringing in his ears for 5 good years, including staying loyal in the Championship last season, reality is he won't be playing in it for us next season, the only question now is whether we are smart enough to get £15 million or dumb enough to get zero.

All Photos Via Reuters

landsdownsaint added 15:36 - Dec 31 While I think he’s an excellent footballer & been great for us I’m notsure he will ever get the move he wants , he’s amazing at going forward but he can be targeted for his size . Anyway it’s been an absolute pleasure watching him & I do hope he gets the move he deserves
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allsaint54 added 15:45 - Dec 31 Cash in now on all the players who will leave in the summer as they think they're better than Championship standard,. Sell now & not be held to ransom quite so much.
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Bowlercow added 16:09 - Dec 31 The stated intention of SR is to buy young players,develop them and sell them on at a profit. Can they do that from the Championship? Can they do that as a yo yo team ? I believe that in both cases they can. I therefore expect THB,Fernandez and Dibling to be sold when we go down Their combined fees plus the PL money keeps us going without any further monetary input We have already got the replacements and will be able to field a competitive side next season so I am sure that IF any club offers a reasonable fee for KWP he will go now

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davenbennett added 16:28 - Dec 31 Sell. Take the money now. Whether worth buying anybody this window, not sure. If can get a striker better than we have now, yes. But who would want to come, unless lower league.
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JoeEgg added 16:37 - Dec 31 I thought the whole point of promotion from the Championship was to try your luck in the Premiership and take appropriate actions all along the way to give yourself the best possible chance of enjoying at least some measure of success in the country's top league? Isn't this what Forest, Bournemouth, Brighton and Brentford have achieved? Fernandez and Dibling are with their first seasons in our first team and should be kept. KWP is a no brainer. Unless he wants to stay with us and fight again for promotion, he should be sold now and leave with everyone at St Marys wishing him all the best for his future. If we sell all our promising talent we will very soon be playing third fiddle to both Bournemouth and Portsmouth. Martin and SR have half ruined our club - lets get some pride back, thrash everyone in the Championship next season and then move back with a much more talented squad into the Premiership again! Just a thought!!!!!

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kingolaf added 16:39 - Dec 31 Nobody will pay £10m for a player with 6 months contract. Also, KWP would probably rather leave on a free and trouser a big signing-on fee. The club do not hold the cards on this one.
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derbydog added 16:42 - Dec 31 The £15 million you mention is nonsense — that would be the case were he to sign a new three year contract. His value now is what is left on his contract, £2-3 million perhaps. We can’t have it both ways. We offered £10 million for Nathan Wood when he had 2 years left on his contract but then picked him up for £3 million when he had 1 year left. That’s what is happening with KWP but with only six months left we will have to take what we can. Isn’t it time you started banging on about the actually now largely defunct loyalty bonuses meaning he won’t leave until July? That’s also nonsense. He can sign a pre-contract with a foreign club from tomorrow and agree a post-dated contract with a UK club anytime. Bye bye KWP and thanks (for all the fish)

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Colburn added 16:52 - Dec 31 I’ll be amazed if we get more than 7 million for him. Firstly there was no queue of clubs in the summer coming in for him, which is why he ended up staying. Secondly any club will know he is out of contract in 5 months and haggle accordingly if not wait until summer. This leaves the teams who are desperate and prepared to jump in before summer. These are not the moves that KWP wants unless one of those clubs are big and there aren’t many big desperate teams out there. As such I expect him to stay. I agree with Nick though that we should cash in as much as possible if we can next month, 5 million would be useful. After picking up zero points from the last must win two games, it’s hard to see us overhauling 3 teams. Still, I hope we bring in a couple of good loan signings like Ferguson at Brighton if available and have a go at getting as many points as possible.

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Jesus_02 added 18:12 - Dec 31 The argument that we will be relegated regardless doesn't really hold much water for me. If that was the thinking why did we sack RM at the cost of £12m when he had proven he could get us out of the championship? Its not all about the balance sheet, its about reputation as well. I'd say keep him unless we get an offer above what you would expect . For me his six months is probably worth 5m or so. No one is paying £15m.

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Ali_Diarea added 19:24 - Dec 31 Sell now, take the money. Please SR don’t make anymore panic buys in the winter window. Focus on having a good clear out of the deadwood, write off this season. Sell, sell, sell We don’t want another July/August where the manager has no idea who will still be with us at the end of the summer window, so get rid of them all now.
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UgandaSaint added 07:50 - Jan 1 Kingolaf is right, KWP will decide, not Saints. He has served us well as an attacking wingback but the reason Spurs let him go and no big club came in for him with an offer near our inflated value is because he is average at tackling and poor at heading.
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UgandaSaint added 07:50 - Jan 1 Kingolaf is right, KWP will decide, not Saints. He has served us well as an attacking wingback but the reason Spurs let him go and no big club came in for him with an offer near our inflated value is because he is average at tackling and poor at heading.
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DPeps added 09:19 - Jan 1 Happy New Year! We have the basis of a team that could perform well in the championship, even with quite a few player departures. We have a lot of options in defence, for instance: Bednarek, Wood, Edwards, Sug, Bree, Manning, and (dare I say it...) Stephens. Elsewhere we have Downes, Aribo, Armstrong, Archer, Bereton and some good young prospects. Lallana could be great as a bit-part player. I can't see any other clubs coming in for these players, or at least no clubs that would be an upgrade for the players. I'd look to potentially move on any other players that aren't in the plans for next season. Give Kamaldeen and ABK some more game time to get them in the shop window. Dibling and Fernandes could be kept but equally if we get good offers then sell, either in Jan or in the summer. THB will be wanted by a PL club. Ramsdale will probably leave. Baz isn't ideal but probably good enough for a decent championship team. Tall Paul is an enigma: could be great in the championship or sell for an ok price and replace. Noone wants the lowest points tally but frankly why does it matter if you get relegated with 12 points or 10 points? Both add up to an awful season. Need to grin and bear it for now and focus on the future. I get the negativity with SR but can't forget that they have got in some very good players who fitted what we needed at different times: Ramsdale, THB, Fernandes, Downes. The grave mistakes this season were misplaced loyalty to the players who got us up and not getting in one proven goalscorer As for KWP, sell now. He's been great and I wish him all the best

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ItchenNorth added 10:08 - Jan 1 KWP is 5-7 mil at best with only 6 months left on his contract. I suspect most clubs will wait till the summer and sign on a free now anyway. KWP isn't going a top club, he'd be going mid to lower, say a Fulham or West Ham.
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Peterx added 10:42 - Jan 1 To me if we can get some up and coming proven championship players in, we can test them in the prem to see if they can operate at this level, then if we go down, we know we have players who can operate in the championship, and we will also know which ones can't cut it in the prem for next time. Also, if some are a success, we can no doubt offload to the promoted prem teams who will be looking to spend at a profit. Also Juric probably has a handle on promising Serie B players.

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underweststand added 17:00 - Jan 1 Agree with.. landsdownsaint ( opening post) . It's time for him to move NOW. He's too good for the Championship and in 6 months time he can walk away - for nothing. He will have to be replaced anyway so why not now? Thanks Kyle, a good servant to the club in difficult times, but we need to get whatever we can for him in the January window.
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Monksway added 18:08 - Jan 1 I think KWP will stay for all the reasons above. I'm sure Saints would sell if they could. I'd get as many of next years team out on loan. Ronnie Edwards is a good move. Sam Amo, Bazunu, Larios if fit should follow. Ramsdale, THB, Dibling, Fernandes will go in summer. Downes, Aribo, Archer, Onuachu and ABK need to play if they are to get a move.
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SanMarco added 08:15 - Jan 2 This is why I like TUI so much. Nick poses an interesting question in the article. Then his solution is challenged by equally sensible counter-arguments!! It does all boil down to whether a prem club wants him enough to pre-empt others in the summer by making a worthwhile offer now - AND whatever KWP then decides. This is a great comment on the mess that SR and their RM puppet have got us into. Few clubs in the top division in many decades have had to make decisions like this. With our squad, flawed as it is, we should not be this hopeless on 2nd January. Even now I would still give it until after the Forest game, or Manure if we lose both - after all, win all three and we are back in contention (I wish I wasn't joking). Happy New Year to all.

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AmericanSaint added 13:38 - Jan 2 You all make great points and KWP has been a good steward for the club. If a Prem club comes in and offers 5-10M and KWP wants to go then he has earned that right. BUT I suspect as many of you rightfully pointed out, he has more to gain in staying to the end and making more money on a free transfer. Whichever way it plays out, KWP should get a standing ovation and a big thankyou from us all for all his efforts during his time at the club.

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