Tottenham Hotspur are being reported as being about to offer Saints a swap deal to bring Victor Wanyama to White Hart Lane in the final week of the transfer window.
Saints statement that they will not be allowing any player to leave St Mary's in the January transfer window is about to be tested as Spurs mindful of reports in some quarters that Victor Wanyama is about to sign a new deal at Saints are about to get up to their old tricks again.
Various national media sources are suggesting that they might be about to offer Saints Andros Townsend in exchange for Wanyama, Townsend has barely played in the Premier League this season and with the Euros coming up is keen to get away and Spurs are keen to offload him.
Not so keen that they are willing to let him go at a fair price though and Newcastle United are said to have baulked when quoted a £14 million asking price recently.
So will Spurs be trying to get Wanyama on the cheap ?
The answer is almost certainly yes and £14 million for Wanyama would be cheap and it would suit Spurs to get rid of player who isn't in their plans and bring in one who most certainly would be at such a low price.
Therefore they will be looking to try and broker a straight swap deal rather than have to pay a further £6 million or so on top of sending Townsend to St Mary's, indeed it could be that this rumour is nothing more than a ploy by Spurs to unsettle the player leaving him open to a bid from them in the summer when his value will drop.
Times are troubled at Spurs, they are having to pay a lot of outlay out with regard to building their new stadium next door to White Hart Lane and they still have not sorted out where they will play whilst building work goes on, having to play at MK Dons would be disastrous financially as it would mean a big reduction in the capacity and limited income from match day catering and hospitality as well as having to pay to play there.
Also there is a feeling growing around the club that Mauricio Pochettino is under performing, at time of writing Spurs actually have one less point that they had two years ago under the Argentinian coaches predecessor Tim Sherwood and indeed this season sit only two points above the same total they had at this stage last season.
The jury is still out on Pochettino's ability to take the club any further forward than it has been in the past, this season's Premier League is the widest open for many a year and Daniel Levy and his board are a little concerned that so far this season Spurs have not been consistent enough to take advantage.
Pochettino himself will know that the next few months are crucial, if he fails to make the Champions League spot this season it could prove catastrophic for Spurs finances not to mention their chances of ever breaking into it again, especially in the next few years as teams around them increase capacity's and incomes at a time when Spurs own income will be reducing and its outgoings increasing.
Therefore the news of the bid for Wanyama could be nothing more than a media campaign from someone within the club to try and give their supporters the impression that all is well both on the pitch and financially.
But the reality is somewhat different and some Spurs supporters will be asking why the club is up to it's old tricks again when the season is so delicately poised, why muck around with a deal for Wanyama ? put the money on the table now, if it costs a few million more that will be a drop in the ocean compared to what they will lose should they fail to qualify for the Champions League, if they do not do that because they have failed to land a key player like Wanyama because they have once again spent too much time trying to do things on the cheap, then Spurs supporters might have a few questions to ask in May.