Everton's latest transfer pursuit could be Pierre Emille Hojbjerg according to the press, but if this latest rumour is true could Saints do a swap deal rather than straight cash for reportedly £35 million.
Pierre Emile Hojbjerg has provoked mixed opinions amongst some Saints supporters so much so that after the latest rumour some fans were contradicting themselves on one hand demanding that he not be sold even at the high price tag quoted and on the other claiming he is not that good this season, such is the duality of being a Saints supporter these days.
Personally I think he has had a far better season than some would give him credit for and is a vital cog in our side, certainly like many of our squad he is valued far higher by other club's than by his own fans, but if Everton are willing to pay £35 million then I think that is good business, especially as we already have a ready made replacement in the club in Oriol Romeu and that would solve that problem.
But could it be that Saints will not take a straight cash deal for the Danish player whose name sounds French, but take a cash plus player deal and reunite Morgan Schneiderlin a French player whose name sounds German with St Mary's.
When Schneiderlin left St Mary's in the summer of 2015 to Manchester United it looked like he had a glittering career ahead of him, but he would start just 25 Premier League games for United plus another as sub and be sold on to Everton in January 2017.
His time at Goodison Park has been little better, in his 3 years there 56 starts in the League plus another 14 as sub has not been the mark of a player who was absolute class at Saints.
If Hojbjerg was to go to Everton that would surely limit Schneiderlin's opportunities still further, so there is scope for Saints to consider making him part of the deal.
Schneiderlin cost Everton £20 million but having just turned 30 and his contract expiring in the summer of next year, he would be valued at far less than that, I would suggest a fee for Hojbjerg of around £25 million plus Schneiderlin would be good business for Saints.
The French midfielder with the German name would be the type of leader that we need in the centre of our midfield and although his age would not quite fit our demographic for the players we usually sign, sometimes you have to think outside of the box and he is just what we need at the moment.
This might also appeal to Schneiderlin himself who surely cannot have enjoyed his time since he left Saints.
Personally I think that should this deal happen as I have suggested it would be forward thinking for Saints rather than just another sale, but even for straight cash I would say that if Everton are truly willing/silly enough to offer us £35 million for Hojbjerg then I would take it.