One good thing these days is that Saints look to be one step ahead of the game when it comes to building a squad and whilst its worrying that a right back seems to be high on our list, it is also comforting.

In Nathaniel Clyne Saints have arguably the best right back in the country, however with 18 months on his contract left and a new one offered but not yet signed the club have to look at what options they have in the summer.

Should Saints achieve the dream of Champions league football then getting Clyne to sign a new deal will be easier, but should we fail then he is going to be prey to the likes of man Utd & Liverpool who will offer him big money deals that we may be unable to match.

That being the case then in the summer we will have to consider our options on Clyne and it could be that cashing in will be the way forward s it was in the summer of 2014.

But unlike last summer Saints have the chance to do their homework and sign players at the right price rather than being held to ransom by Clubs as they know we have money.

The latest playerto be linked with Saints is Parma right back Andrea Rispoli who at 26 has plenty of experience in Serie A

However this is a breakthrough season for Rispoli who has spent several seasons on loan away from Parma.

Parma however are bottom of Serie A and would prefer to hold on to Rispoli to help them stay up, Ronald Koeman however will know that right back is our achilles heal at the moment in that without Clyne wehave no real other options there other than going to three central defenders which may not suit every game, the Dutchman will be keen to look to bring in an aspiring right back such as Rispoli or Byram at Leeds not only as a potential replacement for Clyne should he leave in the summer, but as cover for him now.

Photo: Action Images

SonicBoom added 11:49 - Jan 21 I guess that as we are looking around there isn't anyone coming through the academy at right back?
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SaintNick added 11:58 - Jan 21 Chambers would be the obvious choice if still here, but the right back behind him would still be 17, not everyone is ready then, chambers himself wasnt
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Jesus_02 added 13:12 - Jan 21 Looks like Clyne will play out his contract like Cork. A bit disappointing really, I can understand Cork as he would definitely be in the "Squad Player" category. He may be treated more like a first choice at another club. Clyne IS our first choice. Dreams of a majority "home-grown" team may be more difficult to realise. The only way forward I can see for Clyne is to have a realistic release clause in an enhanced contract. He may be wary of agreeing a new deal on the basis of a gentleman’s agreement after the Morgan situation. The way things are his stock is VERY high he can chose his club and demand top dollar in 18 months

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surreysaint added 10:09 - Jan 22 We've lacked cover at right back since Callum left - it's the most obvious hole in our squad. Toby would be second choice, i would guess - he plays there for Belgium after all. Cork, Maya and, at a push, JWP could do a job. It is tricky, because as soon as reports come out claiming we're looking at a right back, so the rumours around Clyne's departure intensify. Not seen Byram or Rispoli, so can't comment, but we've been lucky with Clyne's fitness so far this season. I am glad we're looking at plugging this gap and as Nick rightly says, we should plug it now to (worst case scenario) give a potential replacement for Clyne time to bed in seamlessly for next season. Still hoping Manyoo go for Seamus Coleman, then a European Tour could nudge Clyne into signing!

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