If there is one man who Saints fans would like to see at St Mary's next season it is Toby Alderweireld and it could still be a possibility.
If you read the media you would believe that Chelsea have set their sights on signing Toby Alderweireld and that they are so desperate to do so that they are dangling Felipe Luis as a carrot in front of Athletico Madrid.
However it is serving that it is not Chelsea who are pursuing Alderweireld, but Athletico chasing Felipe Luis and offering Alderweireld as bait as they do not have the hard cash at present to buy Luis.
Whilst Chelsea have considered the offer it seems that they have other central defensive targets that they would prefer ahead of Alderweireld, including John Stones of Everton.
But even if Chelsea did show an interest it is not certain that Alderweireld would want to go to Stamford Bridge, this season at least he would find it difficult to dislodge John Terry and Gary Cahill and given that Alderweireld does not want to stay at Athletico and sit on the bench, it is doubtful he would want to find himself in the same position at Chelsea.
So if staying at Athletico and moving to Chelsea are out, Alderweireld's options and indeed Athletico's of moving him quickly are narrowing.
At present it seems that they are down to two, a return to Saints or perhaps Tottenham Hotspur.
This still leaves Saints in pole position though, firstly there is there question of transfer fee, Spurs with an expensive new stadium to fund and a sojourn in Milton Keynes also reducing their earning power do not have a big transfer budget and if they over for Alderweireld without selling first they would blow a big chunk of it and leave themselves unable to go in for other targets till they had sold.
This would not suit Athletico who themselves need cash to fund their own transfers this summer, so Saints could be finding that the Spanish club are suddenly ready to do business with them again.
Secondly there is the wishes of the player himself, whilst Athletico have been in the driving seat so far, ultimately it is Alderweireld himself who will decide whether he wants to go or not.
Alderweireld has spoken in the media of how he loved his time at St Mary's and that he would like to return, he is also believed to have spoken privately about his desire to come here and that will be a big advantage.
So in many respects the ball is firmly back in Saints court and they need to talk with Athletico and put hard cash on the table quickly to tempt the Spanish club into accepting that it would be better to ale a good offer now then let the situation drag on, that is also the case for Saints who need to sort out their central defensive options quickly with the opening Europa League games approaching fast.