After a day of media reports that Liverpool have had a £10 million bid for Nathaniel Clyne turned down, we now seemingly have a day when the true price is set.
Make no bones about it the media are being briefed by someone in the Nathaniel Coyne saga, if we take it as read that it is not Saints then that leaves only the potential buyers, in this case Liverpool or someone connected with the player, although this could be a little more complicated than normal due to the fact that Clyne changed agents a month or so ago.
That could mean that some of the stirring could be coming from his ex agent, although I would say that the media stories are too precise for that to be totally the case, the buying club would usually be very close to this type of rumour.
That being the case is born out by how quickly the rumours have switched, there has been an initial story of a bid being rejected and that has been quickly followed by stories of how it will take £15 million to prised Clyne away from Saints.
Saints are almost certainly not telling anyone that at this stage so it is almost as if Liverpool are telling us just how much we should sell Clyne for.
The price being bandied around is £15 million and the question is whether that is a good price or not, the first reaction of many would be that given that Luke Shaw went to United last summer for £30 million, that half of that for Clyne is not a realistic price, the problem is for Saints tough that Clyne is not on a long term contract as Shaw was, he has a year left and that will drive down the price.
So £15 million although being a low price is probably nearer his value in the present situation than the money we got for Shaw, United were paying a premium for potential, the true value of both players in a normal situation would probably be around the £25 million mark.
So that being the case Saints if they are forced to sell if the player refuses to sign a new deal should be looking to get around £20 million from any potential buyer, less than that and it could be seen as Saints losing out, anything above that though and Saints have to consider snapping someone's hands off.
The reality of the situation though is that the player is waiting to see what happens at Wembley this afternoon, if Arsenal win and Saints are in the Europa League then they are in a far stronger position to persuade Clyne to sign a new deal. This would mean that going to Liverpool would offer the player little in terms of bettering his lot football wise, normally you would say that Liverpool would offer a better chance of glory but it is a club in disarray.
Would Clyne be improving his game and furthering his England career to go to Liverpool in their current situation, a manager who has lost the plot and seemingly the dressing room, a squad that has slots its best an most consistent player and is op heavy with players who are distinctly average and finally the top stars they have want away, surely Clyne would be mad to want to go to a club in this state.
Perhaps it will all come down to money, if Saints qualify for the Europa League it won't be football.