What does the £2m add on mean and what does he have to do for us to get it? I am against these add on's for a player of his quality and experience. It is not as if they do not know what they are getting.

Also, how can we say Soares is a replacement? We have no idea what he is like. He will only be a replacement if he performs to or above Clyne's level.

So now the ball has started to roll. IMO with the transfer strategy is that we need to sort Toby out, if we sign him we get not only a CB but cover for RB so no need to sign another RB, maybe just an additional CB to Toby. Vlarr a possible option but would prefer a younger player. Then it is on to the Midfield and spider, will save that for when it happens. Real shame to see Clyne go though.

I'm sad to see Clyne go (especially to Liverhampton of all places) but Nick is right - it's about what happens next. Saints haven't got it wrong yet with the replacements we got in for Shaw,Louvren and Lalanna. It's another good bit of business once it became clear he didn't want to stay.

Time will tell, but RB is not a problem area regarding getting quality in. If Soares is just as good then remember we paid £3.5m for him and sold Clyne for £10-12m. Also remember we bought Clyne for next to nothing and got a great deal for a RB with only a year left on his contract.

Overall I'm surprised the Liverpool board sanctioned yet another "over the odds" transfer to bolster Saints coffers! They are placing a lot of trust in Brenda and I somehow get the feeling he is on his last chance. If he doesn't get CL this year he will out of Liverpool quicker than Louvren's head went in...😆

Fare play to Clyne at least he has avoided the kind of unprofessionalism that we experienced with Lovren and Lallana. However I still feel pretty raw about this

Things that worry me are:

1: "With Cédric Soares now in place" - Soares is the replacement
2: Because of our success last season we may keep trying to replicate the gamble. Gamblers always lose in the end
3: We have been put in our place by Liverpool today. 10m sets the bar too low. We sent a signal to “Top Clubs”
So we move on to selling Schniederlin with the fear that if we don’t sell him soon we won’t have time to replace him and if we don’t sell him by Sep 1st then he may end up going into the last year of his contract. And if he goes into the last year of his contract, well we can only sell him for a fraction of what he is worth.

You may think that I have used the word sell too much, however I think that that’s a fare reflection of what we are in business for.

Jesus02, just a few things in response to your concerns:

1 &2 We got Soares in before Clyne left and have made it clear we had been tracking him for a while. It is not a panic buy, but clearly a calculated move. Yes, any transfer is a gamble, but it is likely we have done our homework and got someone in who fits the bill. I suspect Saints saw this as a win-win: Soares can either give Clyne serious competition if he stayed or can bed in as first choice ASAP. Yes we need to see what happens, but any transfer is a gamble - including Clyne going to Liverpool.

3. I really doubt we've been put in our place at all. 10-12m is a good amount for a RB who is coming into his last year of contract. Liverpool made a derisory offer and it was rebuffed. As i said in my last comment, i suspect Liverpool are beginning to wonder whether they are getting mugged off by us.

And the Schniederlin affair is hardly Saints rolling over. Man Utd made a silly bid and it was revoked. Arsenal are not even bothering because they realise they will have to pay top dollar for Saints players. Hardly setting the wrong signal! It's saying that, if you want to buy our players, you will have to pay over market value. It is likely that Spurs will be put off too as we will not sell on the cheap.

If Schnidererin goes into his last year of his contract, then so be it. Another year's worth of service will be vital in this important year of EL football. He may well recoup us the money we lose out on by not selling him now in many other ways. He may also sign a fresh deal if there is no real chance of him getting CL team now (with the usual buy out clauses).

I really don't think we are seen as a selling club no more. Instead, top clubs want our top players - and that's a great sign of progress. You don't hear of Swansea or West Ham etc. thinking about bidding for our players - it's only the elite in the PL. But Saints are clearly quite savvy and are ensuring we don't get underplayed. I really suspect the top 6 clubs in the PL know that and will think carefully about coming in for our players.

All the while, if we sell we sell big and bring in quality at a lot lower cost that improves us. We continue to get stronger. We may make mistakes on the pitch, but financially we are hitting home runs every time (apologies for the mixed metaphors). And all the while we consolidate a healthy position in the PL (and now europe).

I think these are reasons to say 'keep calm and support the Saints'..

Jesus - MS has two years left on his contract so won't be "going into his last year" till next summer.
NC was in the last year of his contract. We either sold him now or he stays and we get nothing next year.
His choice was to leave. Twelve mill is less than he would be worth with two years left, but it was as good as we could get.
"Put in our place" by Liverpool. You sure? We have taken plenty of their cash recently so maybe they got NC slightly cheap but we're still ahead on the deals.

If Liverpool play him as a right back, as we have for the most part, he will do a good job for them. I don't think he would adapt well to being a right wing back, playing further up the field, and I think this is why Van Gall opted out (he has the same problem with Shaw - good full back that can over lap but not a comfortable wing back).
Though seeing some of Rodgers teams last year he may well get an outing at left midfield one week and right centre back of three the next week

The aggravating thing is the buy/develop/sell revolving door. We turning into the Premier League academy!
Needless to say, money is the key to keeping players and one way is to develop our brand worldwide.. with that in mind it is a disappointment that our friendlies are the usual Northern Europe locales. We should be going where the bigger markets are: Asia and America.
The club could also run an International Supporters Club with a subscription fee take would give discounts worldwide on shirts, tickets, etc. (Although I don't see that green slime shirt selling that much! Maybe at a Ghostbusters Convention?)

Remember he ran his contract down at Palace where he had been since he was a kid. He has done a good job for us and we made a load of money. Some of the add ons can be great, I read Saints got an extra mill for Chamberlain in the first year because he was capped by England and another 3 mill from united this year due to them getting back in the champions league.

Sorry to see Clyne go, but good cash and onwards

More importantly, to take up Boondock's point - don't think I've seen a debate about next season's away shirt on here yet. It's horrible, as bad as Villa's away kit circa 1995 (Muller sponsor, you know the one)

X It is a pity that we let Chambers leave. He would have been our no 1 RB and Clyne the backup.
Can't see Clyne winning the hearts of the Scousers. I fully expect their boo boys to attack him within a few months.