It makes a change for the national press to claim that Victor Wanyama could stay at St Mary's and sign a new deal rather than link him to North London but that is the case.

As I said in a previous story, Jeremy Wilson of the Daily Telegraph is a former Daily Echo journalist and as such has always retained close links to Southampton Football Club from his time down here, so when he writes about the club it is always well written and well informed and you can be sure that he has done his homework.

He has suggested that talks between Southampton Football Club and Victor Wanyama are still ongoing and that the club are increasingly hopeful that the Kenyan will sign a new deal.

The signing of Charlie Austin is seen as a notice of intent by many close to the club and it could be that Wanyama decides that the grass next season might not be greener in North London than it is in Hampshire.

The article by Wilson clearly sets out the playing field between Saints and Wanyama and the fact that the club will not be mucked around, whilst they would prefer to keep him, equally they wll not be held to ransom, nor will they let him enter the last year of his contract without signing an extension.

Again this is positive spin that the club seems to have put out to Wilson and other trusted journalists, Ronald Koeman, Les Reed and Ralph Krueger seem happy with the state of the club at present and the short team aim is to match last seasons 7th place finish with a long term goal of continuing to cement their place as a top 7 club year in year out.

That means staying strong with the players, the downside of success is that the bigger clubs covet your assets, this is inevitable and although of course Saints would prefer to hang on to their best players, they are not scared to do so and are already planning for the situation.

Photo: Action Images

pintsizedsaint added 19:48 - Jan 18 I'm sorry, but this is very similar to what we heard about Clyne just before he left...
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bstokesaint added 22:02 - Jan 18 Good point Pint. That hope was quickly quashed. I find it hard to believe he'll stay if he's unsettled as some sources say.
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rankxerox added 22:23 - Jan 18 I'd be happy for Saints to sell him. Can't pass the ball, I much prefer Romeu as a better all rounder.
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dirk_doone added 22:26 - Jan 18 Good news. He's struggled this season trying to fit in with his new midfield partners, but he played well against Arsenal and West Brom, and at last he is beginning to forge the same understanding with Ward-Prowse that he had with Schneiderlin. Meanwhile, Schneiderlin is struggling to fit in at Man United.
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schatfield added 08:57 - Jan 19 not fussed if he left or stayed, prefer Romeu as well. If you give away the ball as many times as he does, why is he considered such a big deal, just because of his size? Fair enough he has the odd good game, but has just as many stinkers too.
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perazi added 09:48 - Jan 19 I'm sorry dirk doone, but Ward-Prowse is not an adequate DM partner for Wanyama, nor Clasie, nor Romeu. He scored a sublime free kick last Saturday and took a penalty very well but his overall game wasn't that startling. I don't know what his position is, but it's not a defensive midfielder.
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SaintBrock added 12:13 - Jan 19 We must keep him at all cost and if as reported £100k pw is what we are paying Austin then surely we can find some odd change down the back of the sofa to keep Vic in the style he fancies. With Vic, Oriol and Jordy in the middle surely we can walk this league next year?
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arthurfane added 12:36 - Jan 19 ^^ we are definitely not paying Austin 100k. Firstly I don't believe he'd be that demanding, coming from a Championship side, and secondly that is so far above our highest earners, it would simply unsettle the team... Rubbish spewed out by David Gold, attempting to excuse himself from not signing CA when he had the opportunity!
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Alehouse added 15:00 - Jan 19 If Wanyama is close to signing a new deal it will be because his agent has come to realise what some of us have been saying for a while, which is that no top premier league team would pay top dollar for a midfield player with his poor passing skills.
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IWOZTHERE added 15:38 - Jan 19 As suggested, similar to Clyne. The doubt is an unnecessary nuisance and his form isn't good enough to warrant it. Sign this window or get out!
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SaintBrock added 18:19 - Jan 19 There is a difference between Vic and Clyne. Clyne probably was tapped up by Judas Lallana and no doubt Lovren and he knew he would be with old pals if he went up there. There's nobody at Spurs who knows him and at the Arse only Chambers who had any connection but is probably ignored anyway.
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SaintBrock added 18:27 - Jan 19 arhurfane - I didn't really believe the story either but Gold offered far more up front than we did so why didn't QPR bite? Of course, there is a difference between QPR getting the money and Austin but it doesn't really add up either way you look at it. Les may have charisma and charm but not that much so something apart from contract run-down clinched a deal in our favour? Question is "what"? Money has to be the main factor so are there add ons and top ups for QPR if Austin plays for England or scores so many PL goals?

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arthurfane added 13:30 - Jan 21 Yes Brock - rumour has it there is the possibility of up to a further £1m in ad-ons if he a.) gets back into the England squad (500k) and b.) scores more than 12 league goals this season (500k). Regarding West Ham - they were quoted 15m when he had longer left on his contract - the price has come down because he is near the end of his contract. Austin's wage demands would have nothing to do with QPR's asking price so they are unconnected. Gold's slur on Austin's fitness/injury situation is, I think, disproven by the fact he passed a medical at Saints - we have one of the best medical departments in the country and if there was a problem, we wouldn't have signed him, especially with JRod currently out.

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