Saints have reshuffled in the boardroom and they have their transfer strategy already up and running but it is being held up by Birmingham City's managerial change of their own.

Saints have started to ring the changes both on and off the pitch, essentially the same core values and infrastructures remain, but they are being expanded and improved.

According to Jeremy Wilson in the Telegraph, a man who has his finger on the pulse at St Mary's more than most, Saints have their transfer targets and are looking to recruit a striker, a wing back and a central defender in addition to Moussa Djenepo whose services have already been secured.

But one of their main targets is proving difficult to land, there is bid of £14 million on the table for Che Adams, bu so far it has not been accepted, new Blues boss and with Birmingham caretaker coach Pep Clotet currently assessing his squad following the sacking of Garry Monk, Southampton are now considering alternative options.

Saints clearly now how much they want to pay for the player and are keen to avoid the issues of the past couple of years when they have panic bought several players at more than their value, they are keen to make sure that they are not forced into paying over the odds,

Birmingham of course will be keen to try and get as much out of the deal as possible and with no one going anywhere before July 1st they know they have a week before they actually have to start doing business.

According to Wilson

"Southampton are also ready to let one of their goalkeepers - either Fraser Forster or Alex McCarthy - leave and are open to offers for Wesley Hoedt, Cedric Soares, Guido Carrillo and Sofiane Boufal as they try to generate further funds and flexibility within their wage structure. "

They are just a number of players who have played little or no part under Ralph Hasenhuttl and the reality is that with new arrivals coming in there will be other members of the squad who the club would be willing to sell should the right offer come in, possibly as many as 12 could conceivably go should the circumstances merit.

Photo: Action Images

AndrewW_London added 17:17 - Jun 24 It seems that we all got excited prematurely over the news of Che Adams' immanent arrival and now it's got bogged down in an unseemly tussle over a fee. If we let the deal slip away, it will be a massive disappointment. Surely it makes sense to match the club's valuation. £16m for the player does not seem unreasonable given the huge need we have for a proven goal scorer. Do you think there's a chance it will still get done?

5

A1079 added 17:30 - Jun 24 Though I am far from being a PR or negotiating expert, stating in the press that £14m is far as you are prepared to go does not sound like a good strategy, because you have effectively told other potential buyers of this player what your limit is - so all they have to do is offer anything above £14m. I know there is more to purchasing players than just the fee, but it did not seem logical even when I read the press and other media, to state openly what your red line is. I am beginning to think that this purchase is heading for a cul-de-sac. I appreciate that this is a criticism and is not in line with recent requests not to question Transfer strategy and I am not in the know, but Saints may have their limits of spend on a player (which is reasonable to expect of any club), but should you be shouting about it before you have committed one way or another? I just wish they had been more circumspect before they had signed Carillo.

7

Saintsforeverj added 18:26 - Jun 24 The annoying thing is, I wasn't bothered about signing the unknown Carrillo who had scored very few goals prior to buying him. A play like Che Adams on the other hand, is a proven goal scorer, clearly fast and is young so can only get better. Stupid not to sign him when you look at some of the wrong ones we singed previously.
9

Colburn added 22:13 - Jun 24 Have the club actually stated publicly that our max is 14 mil? Lots of agent and media talk confusing issues. We've heard this before and then the player joins or doesn't. If he wants to come to us, he probably will end up here..
3

ExiledSupporter added 22:00 - Jun 25 Still think that there is an excellent argument for keeping the most talented of the unwanted ie. Boufal, who RH has never seen in a first team shirt for Saints and a man who I suspect will react positively to RH's coaching. Much better to loan Elyanoussi out, if we can't sell him and keep Boufal surely
3

underweststand added 11:25 - Jun 27 We don't know how many other players that Ralph wants to buy ... There is a ceiling for what we can / what is sensible to pay , but it seems as soon as a Prem.side is looking to a lower league player the price suddenly shoots up 300% . Championship / L1 clubs look at the income that Prem. clubs generate and think we are knee deep in cash, and can afford whatever they demand, whereas for clubs outside the Top Six it's far from obvious as everything/everyone costs much more at this level. Purchases like Carrillo were made in panic and Monaco obviously saw us coming...hence the last minute price-hike. We are still in June and if we have other viable options it's only sensible to investigate. We may still get the Adams deal over the line, but if we find another instead, we'll need to trust the SMS heirarchy to get it right one way or another.

0

Blogs 31 bloggers

Bury Polls