Saints official website is reporting that Steven Caulker has been signed from Queens Park Rangers.

Steven Caulker is now a Saints player at least for the 2015/16 season after being signed on a season long loan with the option to make the deal permanent for a reported figure of £8 million.

This means that Ronald Koeman can rest easy with a Premier League proven central defensive option in the bag.

But that may not mean that our spending is finished in this department, Virgil Van Dijk is still on the radar but could be cup tied in the Europa League until the group stages if Saints should reach them , add to that the fact that Jose Fonte will be 32 in December and Koeman could be looking at Caulker and Van Dijk as options in the longer term.

Although Caulker has suffered the ignominy of being relegated from the Premier League for each of the past two seasons he is a player of some experience and quality, despite still being 23 (he will be 24 in December) he has already played 188 League games plus 2 as sub for a variety of clubs with the bulk of those being played in the Premier League.

He was an ever present for Cardiff two seasons ago and last season he started 34 games plus 1 as sub for QPR.

He has won 1 England cap back in 2012 scoring on his debut whilst still at Spurs and played in the same Great Britain team as Jack Cork in the 2012 London Olympics.

Photo: Action Images

charlie357 added 15:35 - Jul 29 I'm very happy with this signing, was hoping we would have signed him from Cardiff instead of QPR. His last season wasn't great but QPR as a whole were pretty dire. There's very little risk with this signing too, if he doesn't work out then we can let the option to buy run out, just like Aldewiereld-gate.
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landsdownsaint added 15:36 - Jul 29 Didn't he opt for Queens Pub Rangers over us last season so he could learn his trade better alongside Ferdinand ?
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A1079 added 16:30 - Jul 29 A peculiar decision to take a player like this on loan. It is not a case that they do not know what he is like because they do, so have they taken him on solely to fill a gap with little or no intention of retaining him? I guess if he does well, Spurs will snap him up anyway. All that said, I think he will do well for us, but not convinced by the clubs rationale for a loan on this occasion. We do make some strange decisions in our recruitment of players - other clubs seem more positive and decisive.

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welhamdowed added 17:37 - Jul 29 Worth a punt, I guess we have learnt from Toby deal and got a first refusal type deal in place.
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SaintBrock added 18:32 - Jul 29 A bit too left field for my liking but good luck to him. It seems to me that getting a player in on loan reduces the risk for the club in cases where their quality is questionable. If the latent success of Ryan Bertrand since he joined us was the driving force that persuaded Les to sign him and Ron to accept him then they are committing a huge hostage to fortune. It doesn't seem likely to me that we have discovered a magic formula for turning raw nuggets into gleaming gold, Ryan's success guarantees nothing and is more to do with the players personal qualities. Still, Stephen Caulker is saying all the right things at the moment and seems quite intelligent and focused and after all character counts for a great deal. Certainly he does not come across as a prima donna in the Clyne mold.

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corkcitysaint added 19:45 - Jul 29 Maybe I'm being a bit cynical here but he seems very happy to be a part of Southampton FC now. If so, why did he opt for QPR last season instead of us.. I remember watching him during games last season and thinking I'm glad QPR have him.. He's a Saints player now so I will support him and be positive. Still need Van Dijk though or another me thinks.
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