Saints Prepare To Batten Down The Hatches Tuesday, 29th Aug 2017 11:12 With two days to go before the transfer window closes Saints prepare for a late bid or two for members of their squad.
If the media is anything to go by then Virgil Van Dijk is currently sat sulking in a darkened room waiting to either face the reality of having to honour his contract or alternatively to jump in a helicopter and head to Merseyside for a medical and to sign for Liverpool.
If he goes then it is rumoured to be for a fee somewhere north of £81 million pounds with Saints determined not to sell unless they receive an offer they cant refuse.
The press report that after their good start to the season and the issues some of their rivals are having , that Liverpool really fancy their chances of winning the Premier League and are prepared to spend big to do so, something that they were not willing to do only a few weeks ago.
So the rumour mill is up and running again and it will be a terse couple of days before the window slams shut on Thursday evening.
I think most Saints fans have had enough of Van Dijk now, they accept that even if he stays in this windo then it is only a matter of time before he does leave, that being the case if the club do receive a mega bid and £80 million plus would be mega, whereas £60 million would not, then we would bite the bullet and see him go, but if Saints want the fans to be happy about that then they should have his replacement lined up and straight in.
One target who was linked with Saints was Tottenham's Kevin Wimmer who has now gone to Stoke City for somewhere between £16-18 million this morning, many Saints fans would be disappointed that the club did not do business at that price.
There is also a chance that bids could bemade for both Ryan Bertrand and Cedric Soares, although again it would need to be big bids to even slightly tempt us.
Saints have dug their heels in this summer and needed to make a statement that they are not a selling club, but supporters need to realise that it is not just as simple as telling a player he can't leave, as has been shown not just with the Van Dijk situation, but at several other clubs across Europe as the agents try to take over the game.
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FARESAINT added 11:25 - Aug 29
£80 mil? No brainer. Let him go and invest before the window closes. Had enough of the VVD saga. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
Keesie66 added 11:26 - Aug 29
Liverpool will not pay anywhere near £81 million for VVD, if he is sold the price will not be made public so will leave Saints supporters guessing again. Likely the money received will not be spent either as there simply is no time left unless there are players on standby to sign..... TBC.... | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
thedellboys added 11:32 - Aug 29
we wont reinvest the money we never do, if we sell him then we wont bring anyone in with some lame excuses of couldn't find value in the market etc etc. its the same old story. we will be left behind this season as we are nowhere near strong enough depth wise | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
FARESAINT added 11:34 - Aug 29
I have to disagree, we do re-invest. The way Saints go about their business it wouldn't surprise me if there was someone waiting in the wings to sign...Just a thought. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
legod7 added 11:34 - Aug 29
In today's Daily Echo Cedric says he is happy here , he has a contract and does not want to leave | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
skiptonsaint added 11:37 - Aug 29
If we got 80 mil where do we spend it and how much and In who to Improve the squad ? If we just banked it it would be a very tense few months till Jan Although it is said we need an attacking midfielder the reality is we have 2 expensive ones in Tadic and Boufal who just dont deliver at the moment . Would we really sign a 3rd ? A new 30mil striker might calm the fans though | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
1970 added 11:46 - Aug 29
S**tepool are desperate to get van strike and desperate to get rid of sakho so we hold the cards tell him he can go next season to the highest bidder if that s the pikeys from the north west then were take sakho as px simple coyr | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
JDawg added 11:54 - Aug 29
If £81 is being offered for him then Saints should bite their hand off. Give Celtic their cut then get in Ben Gibson, along with a creative and consistent attacking midfielder and a big strong target man to play off Gabbi. Finally give every fan going to the Watford game £100 and there would not be a single fan who would have a bad word to say about the bored! | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
JDawg added 11:54 - Aug 29
*board even | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
sambat added 12:25 - Aug 29
Bring back Lambert! Bring back Lambert! Put 100m price tag on VVD, 40M on Bertrand (he seems well off his game at the mo), keep Cedric. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
Chesham_Saint added 12:28 - Aug 29
If our Board want to retain a shred of credibility and demonstrate to the football world that we mean what we say, then they cannot sell VVD to the bin dippers this window. | ![](/images/avatars/1775.gif) | |
zoso added 12:31 - Aug 29
Ralph Krueger said he is not going then he is not going. We are fed up losing our best players then we will take 81 Million. For the sake of Saints and football. Don't sale and make a stand. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
Keesie66 added 12:40 - Aug 29
£81 million for a defender? Bye bye VVD .... absolute madness off course Saints should sell him at that price he ain't no Neymar/Messi/Ronaldo etc!!!! He's a defender, they should never cost +£30 million full stop!!! | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
SanMarco added 12:51 - Aug 29
81m is 'bite off hand' money but Kreuger has painted himself into a corner (as has VVD for that matter). I believe he has to be kept until January even if that is not good 'business' in the short term. Certainly if he went to Liverpool in the next couple of days it would be an absolute sickener for loads of us. If the too good to refuse offers for Bertrand and Cedric come in who in the hell will be our first choice full-backs - Yoshi and McQueen??? | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
TeamCortese added 13:58 - Aug 29
I personally think we should put our pride aside and sell VVD providing that we have adequate replacements. He clearly doesn't want to be with us and is only going to further ruin the atmosphere within the dressing room. At this moment VVD is not an asset to Southampton FC but rather the opposite. For me Sakho is a ready made replacement--especially if he's partnered with Hoedt. Secondly if we buy an actual decent striker (i.e. 20 goals a season) then that would make sense along with decent winger (who can also play down middle) then we'll be fine. VVD is very much a luxury centre-half for our level of club. If we were an Arsenal, Tottenham, City type level then selling VVD is a no-go full stop. Anyway let's see what happens Thursday. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
SaintBrock added 15:50 - Aug 29
No time for faint hearts chaps. Where has this magical figure of £81M come from anyway? I can't believe so many on here are beginning to believe the Scouse propaganda and fall into the trap of letting Kreuger and Reed off the hook by demanding vD be sold. This is as SanMarco says a time for principle over profit. Lose this fight and we have consigned ourselves to a future of mediocrity. Is this what we want for our kids and their kids? | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
LondonSaint added 16:17 - Aug 29
The (fake) "news" of a bid and £81m fee came from a fake Twitter account of a guy who pretended to be an ESPN "football correspondent" (@GarethCambridge if anyone is interested). Tweet has since been deleted, profile changed etc. so I'm not sure anything has changed on the VVD front yet. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
TeamCortese added 16:31 - Aug 29
Actually sod what I said earlier. We shouldn't sell. We need to keep our best players and teach them a lesson that no one is bigger than the club. VVD should hopefully learn to get with the program or have his career ruined. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
AmericanSaint added 17:55 - Aug 29
Well the madness begins. My only really question is why the hell didnt we bid 15M for Wimmer. At the crazy prices players are going for today, that would have been a cheap investment. Are we not a "bigger" club than Stoke????? Well the VVD saga will rage and I am in the camp that we keep him for this window on principle alone. If we sell in Dec - we will get more money as clubs over pay out of desperation. On a side note - I read that WHU are looking to off load Fonte asap. LOL - I find it ironic as how they were telling us how great a player he was and how he would help them fortify their defense. Oh well, it shows there was much more going on behind the scenes then what we were led to believe. Let the circus begin. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
Cjay80 added 19:52 - Aug 29
Who is this mysterious 20+ goals a season striker everyone wants? Wimmer, can't get in the Spuds team, why would we want to waste our money? Ben Gibson, yes please. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
LoisDeem added 19:10 - Aug 30
Wimmer, Gray and Lemina all recent new signings at similar money. I know who I think is the best investment already. | ![](/images/avatars/0.gif) | |
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