Saints are not finished in their transfer business for the summer and as the last two weeks before the season starts looms on the horizon, more deals across the board will start to become reality rather than rumour and there are plenty linked with a move to St Mary's.

A striker is still a priority for Ralph Hasenhuttl who admitted after the friendly at Klagenfurt that he still needs things to be better in the final third, but he also wants to bring in a central defender and ironically it looks like Crystal Palace signing one of our targets might trigger a chain of transfer that involves a defender both the Eagles and Saints have been linked with.

But the main problem for Ralph is up front, as it stands he has only Che Adams & Adam Armstrong as experienced front runners, although a tweak in tactical formation might see him revert to a loan central striker system.

It seems though that the Austrian manager might try to replicate his transfer dealing last summer when he signed Armando Broja on loan from Chelsea, the Albanian from Slough looks like he may be heading for West Ham, but Liam Delap son of former Saints record signing Rory Delap is again being heavily linked.

Delap doesn't turn 20 until next February but although he is highly rated at Manchester City, the chances of a Premier League breakthrough in their team is slim, so far just two appearances and 47 minutes of football to his name in the top flight.

Indeed his chances have been limited in the cup competitions, just 4 in total in the 3 cups City contest, although he does have a goal to his name in the League Cup.

In the Premier League 2 he has been prolific, in 32 appearances he has 32 goals and 8 assists.

Like Broja both player and club seem to think that a loan move might be beneficial and Saints are the team tipped to be his destination.

Saints target Chris Richards looks set to join Crystal Palace, the USA International defender is set to make the move, but that may open another door for Saints, Palace were also linked with Levi Colwill who now seems certain to leave Stamford Bridge.

At 19 Colwill already has a season in the Championship with Huddersfield under his belt, but with Chelsea signing Kalidou Koulibaly’s from Napoli. A £47 million bid for Sevilla’s Jules Kounde on the table and interest in former player Nathan Ake from Manchester City, Colwill feels he does not have much of a pathway to the first team at Stamford Bridge.

Colwill is a Southampton lad and is another player Chelsea have snatched from under our noses, this connection could be the key to persuading him that we are the club to prosper at.

Saints transfer business is not finished yet, already we have made 5 signings this summer, of course we may need to ship a player or two out, but what the new owners have brought to the table is the ability to buy before we sell and that is the difference between the austerity of the past 3-4 years and the set up now.

Photo: Action Images

Block8 added 12:35 - Jul 20 The final third is also the creative area behind the strikers where we are also short, we have a team of workers but not a single artist/creator amongst them. So at least one striker, a goal scorer at that, maybe two or promotion from the B team to keep the bench warm. Also by my reckoning we now have seven CB's, so surely something has to give before another addition? And if it is Colwill, experience of the Championship doesn't guarantee a smooth transition into the PL, ask our strikers!

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felly1 added 12:47 - Jul 20 Can't see us signing another CB, Unless we know Bednerek and Lyanco are definitely going. Agree with Block 8 about a creative player needed along with a Striker. We should be looking to shift out 2 or 3 out of Elyonoussi, Redmond, Djenepo and definitely Walcott and bring in a someone with genuine class. We lack creativity and ruthlessness in front of goal. Too much reliance on JWP free kicks to score or open teams up leaves us too one dimensional.

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JoeEgg added 13:12 - Jul 20 'We should be looking to shift out 2 or 3 out of Elyonoussi, Redmond, Djenepo and definitely Walcott and bring in a someone with genuine class. We lack creativity and ruthlessness in front of goal.' felly1 Lets hope we achieve all that. However I'm not sure that even then that Ralph is the right guy to take us forward. It will be fascinating to see how well the Forest squad and manager perform as new boys to the Premier League. They seem to be moving in the right direction - so maybe 16th place will be all we can manage this season!

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saintmark1976 added 13:30 - Jul 20 Sixteen days until our first Premiership game of a new season and the club still haven’t addressed the problems of defence or attack.Both areas of concern have been abundantly clear for weeks if not months, with some fans suggesting years. I’m beginning to think that our new owners really are no better than the now departed Mr Goa and his family.
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halftimeorange added 13:43 - Jul 20 It's difficult to ship out even relatively low-salaried Premiership players when nobody's interested in them . Why - because they're mediocre, even by Championship standards. If he's still here in August, I can see Redmond starting every game as there is no-one better in the squad. Saints are still three or four decent established players short of giving us a fighting chance of EPL survival. Things look bleak even with arrival of some promising young talent.

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wrathoftazz added 14:16 - Jul 20 Give Ralph the purse strings and STILL no striker, I spose atleast he isn't spending millions on championship players this time round
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stmichael added 14:20 - Jul 20 The fact it even needs an article is very concerning!!
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SonicBoom added 14:20 - Jul 20 Some guy on the radio reporting today that saints are close to bringing in a striker. No name given.
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highfield49 added 14:37 - Jul 20 I'm in no position to defend the club owners or current job holders in their efforts to sign new players, or their attempts to offload those surplus to requirements. However, it does appear that we are not alone in having our aspirations thwarted by players, agents and clubs unwilling to negotiate. Even the big spenders with European football as bait have been unable to sign players on their wish lists and we certainly can't compete at that level. None of us know how many defenders or goal scorers have been approached via their agents or current clubs and let's not forget the mistakes of the past when signing the likes of the unfortunate Guido Carrillo, I think now out of contract with a £1m valuation. Even if we start the season with only the current players available that still leaves time before the transfer window shuts. Probably I'm being overoptimistic but if Adams and Armstrong start to score goals in the next few weeks the pressure to buy becomes less and our bargaining position with agents gets stronger. Yes, I'm concerned at present but things can change rapidly so, for once, I'm not getting too despondent. Signing Delap on loan would be nice though.

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Jesus_02 added 14:46 - Jul 20 Pretty confident we will bring a striker in. Not that confident he will be as effective as Broja was. CB wise we have too many and not enough class. Cant see that being sorted in time for the season to start. Midfield wise we seem confused, Redmond, Theo, Elyonoussi ARE our creative players. What creativity they have seems limited by how far the full backs get. A lot rests on the shoulders of the lad from Rangers. Not having a positive day !

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SWH1748 added 15:08 - Jul 20 Can’t see Delap here at all, Already been reported that we had a bid to buy him turned down and that City prefer a loan at Championship level. See him going to Burnley unfortunately. Agree that we need creativity, a punt on this might imo be to get Danny Drinkwater in on a short term deal ( to prove his worth ) thus releasing JWP to play further forward. Up front everything seems to quiet, just get something done as we desperately need a proven goal scorer. Pelle back short term might be worthwhile gamble.

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PatfromPoole added 17:32 - Jul 20 Danny Drinkwater???!!?? We do not need any more midfielders, least of all him.
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Monksway added 18:42 - Jul 20 Whether the strategy is right or wrong it is clear so we surely must trust the players we are bringing in/developing. If we are keeping Adam Armstrong and Che Adams we must trust them to score sufficient goals. Stuart Armstrong, Aribo, Redmond and Elyanoussi have to be the creators and chip in. Salisu, Lyanco and Bella-Kotchap must defend or WHAT'S THE POINT of paying them millions!

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Colburn added 22:00 - Jul 20 Even buying Delap is a big gamble if he's going to be used as Broja was. He is untried at any decent level, although trains with the best. For me a loan deal as the 4th striker (not necessarily in pecking order) would be great but we still need a 3rd striker and be prepared to pay for quality. We also need a creator or 2 more because the ones we have struggled last year to create sufficient chances. Not sure we need any more centre backs but we look light at full back. I agree with most views on here that with 2 weeks to go, it's disappointing that the most important signings are yet to be made and have missed pre-season so can't hit the ground running, which was the whole point of having new owners, we were supposed to be able to make more timely signings rather than last minute. This window reminds me of all the others under previous owners but the time to judge is the start of the season. I will be worried until we sign a proper creator and at least one striker of proven finishing quality like Dennis at Watford. Fingers crossed something happens in the next week.

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IWOZTHERE added 23:18 - Jul 20 I disagree with another striker loan. If Delap or another doesn't work out we're stuffed next season anyway. If he succeeds, City will take him back or he'll be 'picked off' by someone else? Stop doing it on the cheap FFS....... Cough up for Dembele or similar. Rewards can be great in the PL.... Admission is not free!
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PeterL22 added 11:40 - Jul 21 Definitely don’t need another central defender (by the way I’m a bit dubious about Bella-Kotcha after Austrian games)! Spend the money on a proper striker- 10-15 million is not going to get anyone worthwhile. You get what you pay for in a No 9. Delap on loan would be worth a punt - as long as we get someone else. Remember Pelle? If you watch the clips of games with him, you realise what a difference a half-tidy striker makes! Agree about weeding out the deadwood- Djenepo, Walcott. Not sure I would keep Adam Armstrong either.

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