There has been much talk in the press about how Saints need to sell Star players to balance the books after several seasons of wasting money, but how true is this.

Last week Les Reed took the unprecedented step of making a statement about the rumours circulating in the press, most of which emit from a couple of sources who seem to b close to a former employee of the club and where the writer seems to have an agenda.

Reed stated that the club had no intention of selling players and had received no offers for any of the squad and indeed Saints wanted to keep the squad together and build on it.

They were fine words from Les Reed and hopefully ones that are true, but do Saints have the ability to keep key players and still make the improvements needed ?

The answer I would say is yes although there are several scenarios possible and I should say that Im not one who see's the sale of a player as being a backward step, whilst in an ideal world everyone would keep their star players and never sell them, the reality is that every club is a selling club to some degree, be it Saints or Manchester City, Arsenal or Manchester United, all clubs have times when for one reason or another a player wants away, good clubs get rid of these players for the top price at the right time, it only becomes a problem when the money received is not well spent.

For those who tell e constantly that the Premier league cash is what it is about and not money generated by clubs themselves, I would say they are far from the truth, for those outside the Champions League places the Premier league cash is important,but you have to have a financial edge on your rivals, since we arrived in the premier league it has been well documented that the training ground is £15 million over budget and that our commercial income is around £7 million pounds per year less than the likes of Fulham, West Brom and Stoke to name but three, this being the case, since returning to the Premier we have wasted £30 million, money that could be well used now.

Scenario 1

This is the ideal world, we hold on to all our star players, if we do this then there will still be a transfer budget from the £80 million or so we receive from the Premier League, it will just not be that large, but if it was say £15 million, if we made 2 key signings then there is no reason why we cant improve, whilst some still believe the propoganda peddled last year that it was possible that a club could jump from being close to relegation one season to a top four finish the next, the reality is far different, finishing 8th is achievable, but getting above that is a lot more difficult as a look at the Premier table for the past decade or so will show, however it is possible but it needs steady growth rather than quick fixes, on the plus side last summer the signing of Dejan Lovren and to a lesser extent partly due to injury Wanyama, Saints showed that two key signings can make a different, those two cost a little over £17 million, that should be affordable again.

Scenario 2

This is perhaps the most realistic and I would say ideal situation, here we would offload Osvaldo, perhaps Ramirez and several other bit part players perhaps Mayuka, Hooiveld or Yoshida, when we bought both Ramirez and Osvaldo I thought their prices were inflated and i would hazard a guess that both would fetch barely half of what we paid if we could offload them in the summer, but if we got £12 million for those two plus another million or two elsewhere then that would when added to the money in scenario one would allow us to make 3, 4 or even 5 key signings, this would not only strengthen the team but the squad in general.

Scenario 3

This is perhaps a little more straying into territory that Saints fans don't want to read about, this involves selling a major star, however this is still not the end of the world, personally I feel that its about good re investment rather than weakening of the team, if Luke Shaw did go for £30 million assuming that is invested in strengthening the squad then that money in itself would strengthen the team, if we added the money from scenario 1 & 2 then that is one hell of a transfer kitty not to mention the wages freed up, I would like to see Luke Shaw stay, but a squad improved by a £50 million plus transfer kitty "IF" and its a big "IF" spent well would be far stronger.

Indeed the other stars linked with other clubs could probably be more inclined to stay if this happened, players are not stupid, they know that this season has been the extent of our limits as a squad, I would profer the opinion that if Saints did cash in on Shaw that rather than starting a mass exodus, it could actually stem the tide, the likes of Adam Lallana etc might feel we actually do have a good chance of moving up a place or two in the league with £50 million being spent on the squad and therefore would be inclined to stay for another season.

Look at Everton to emphasise this point, this time last year it was doom and gloom, a year on and they have sold a player for big money but used the money well and have improved because of that.

As I say in an ideal World we keep everyone, but the World is never ideal.

Scenario 4

This is the doomsday scenario, but actually how many players are going to leave, there are plenty of rumours, but in truth most of these rumours are coming from two or three sources, and those writing the stories seem to have a hidden agenda for one reason or another.

If a mass exodus happened, yes Shaw would be high on the list of some big clubs and to a lesser degree Adam Lallana, but after that the choice for most of the rest of the squad is not really that much better than staying at Saints, Spurs perhaps at best, Morgan Schneiderlin gets linked with Arsenal every year but how many offers have we actually had, if Arsene Wenger rates him that highly he would already be at the Emirates, ironically though as Saturday's midfield performance proved, Morgan is probably the player we could most do without, if Arsenal did offer silly money I would snap their hands off, Cork, Wanyama and Davis arguably gave our best midfield performance of the season against Everton, add to the fact that we have James Ward Prowse, this is an area we are well served in.

But if Doomsday did happen then we would have a hell of a kitty to replace those who have gone.

So although the summer looks to be a nervy time for Saints fans i would say we should approach it with optimism, whatever happens I feel we will be equipped to build on what we have achieved this season, we should not fear change and given that we now have a much better idea of how the Club actually stands in terms of ownership etc, we can look at realistic targets, yes some people's heads were turned by talk of the Champions League, but in the short term that is not a realistic aim, now we are realistic, that doesnt mean our ambition has gone, it means that we are planning for the things that we can achieve in the short term and if we do that the longer term targets get a lot closer

Photo: Action Images

saintnige added 09:37 - Apr 30 Along with most Saints fans, I have been dreading the news that any of our stars are succumbing to temptation and leaving.. but take a little heart from Roberto Martinez' comments about the transfer market. He wishes all ex-players well in 'their new jobs' and is 'very excited' about the prospct of new players joining the club. I was devastated when Martin Chivers left us but soon found new heroes -- although I wouldn't place Frank Saul (the transfer makeweight) in that bracket. COYR

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surreysaint added 09:47 - Apr 30 I can't help thinking the manager is the key to this, particularly for Lallana who has spoken several times in glowing terms of Poch as a 'World Class' manager. If MP stays i think we stand a chance of Scenario 1 or 2 happening. If he goes, it could start an exodus. The upper echelons of the club need to demonstrate that their ambitions match those of the the manager and the top players. If they don't demonstrate that, they'll be off. Just looking at potential signings for a moment (although the way the press are at the moment, it's easy to forget we're actually allowed to BUY players, too!) - either of Fulham's keepers and Caulker from Cardiff if they go down would be a decent start! Then some left back cover and maybe another striker, unless Targett and Gallagher are deemed ready (not seen Targett but think SG needs a season out on loan).

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SanMarco added 10:29 - Apr 30 I agree with surreysaint that MP's future is key here. I believe that he will only stay if he get's commitment from the board for scenarios 1/2 above. If he goes then others will go too and the end of the era that started with the Liebherr takeover will be declared by all and sundry. I think we need to remember that this doesn't HAVE TO BE a bad thing. We have had doom and gloom many times before and (usually) come out alright. We have reached the stage now where to improve further we have got to start replacing not just the dead wood but very good players too (hence the Morgan comment above). This was always going to be the most difficult bit of our upward trajectory. It is possible to move further up and if we really are ambitious I believe it could be done. It is more likely to happen if MP and AL stay but we simply do not know - maybe something even better will come along...

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slynch added 10:38 - Apr 30 I would have thought that big exits would be few. The only reasons a footballer would leave are: that there are emotional or family bonds with an area (eg Puncheon); or, better football and pay. Saints are 8th. Forgetting the first reason a player has to go to a higher club. So realistically there are only 5 teams worth jumping ship for. How many Saints players are wanted by them? Two? At the top end of any market a product that is slightly better than another is proportionally much higher priced. ( a Lamborghini costs much more than a BMW but is only slightly better at getting about the country). So if 2 Saints' Lamborghinis leave then they can buy 4 BMWs. The latter is much better at winning the league because you end up with a better team overall and when your Lamborghini is off sick it's no good if you have to replace it with Dell Trotter's van. The 70mill from Lallana and Shaw would afford Saints a much better squad. But they wouldn't want to leave anyways, would they?

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deary added 10:49 - Apr 30 i agree that the manager is key as there seems to be such a great bond amongst the squad as you can clearly see in all the training photo's etc, but the signings that mo po has made have also got to be questioned some what, its ok for him to want the backing of the board etc, but he has already had this in the past and not necessarily produced the goods! wanyama and lovren have been key good signings, but spending £15m on osvaldo and £12 on ramirez has to be questioned! if they were not his signings and was cortesse then fair enough, but the board will also be worried about this. think what we could do if we had £27m to spend! we could seriously get some quality additions to the squad. the last few months have really shown that our squad is very thin, and are 2 major signings have obviously (for different reasons) not been an option. don't get me wrong i don't want the manager to leave for 1 minute but if we are to invest again in the summer then someone really needs to do their research!

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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 10:56 - Apr 30 It’s a pivotal summer. We need to keep Poche and keep our best players, and sign a world class striker. If we do that then the sky is the limit. Like Everton, the top 4 would not be out of reach. All of our best players are being linked with moves away but it's all bull. Don't believe anything unless it’s an official statement on saintsfc.co.uk I think Poche would only leave to go to a very very big club. If Poche stays then I think most of the players will stay because they believe they can achieve great things with him in charge. The project is still in its early stages and as long as we are moving in the right direction and the positivity continues then I think the players will stay. The biggest question mark for me is the level of funds that Katharina is going to pump in this summer. If Poche is told that there is no transfer kitty and he can only use the funds from selling Osvaldo and possibly Ramirez then he'll be proper hacked off because that's not the impression he was given when he took the job. He was told this club wanted Champions League football. You don't get there without spending each year. The players will also be looking for us to sign a big player. A lack of signings could get them questioning the club's ambition too. So the club need to 1) tell Poche he has £20m to spend. 2) Poche needs to agree a new contract. 3) They need to reject every bid for our best players 4) They need to sign a world class striker. I keep saying about a 'world class' striker because it’s the one thing that will make the biggest difference for us. We continue to dominate most games and create chances but not convert a good enough %. A world class striker will help solve this problem. We need a Daniel Sturridge type, someone who has pace, movement off the ball and can finish. Loic Remy could be the answer, but he says he wants CL football next season. If he goes to Arsenal he'll score 20 goals next season if he stays fit. He's scored 13 premiership goals in 23 games this season in a poor Newcastle side. It all hangs on Katharina. If she doesn't pump in £20m or so then Poche probably won't sign a new deal and players will then consider leaving and Katharina will consider accepting the offers to balance the books. The downward spiral begins. But everyone at the club will know this so surely they won’t let it happen..... When Katharina ousted Cortese, she said she wanted more influence on where her money was going. She didn't say she wasn't going to put more money in. Maybe now she has control she'll be more comfortable parting with more cash. We've got to hope so.

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chipeater added 11:17 - Apr 30 Is it fair to assume that shortfall in commercial revenue is due to sponsorship. AAP to go the sponsorship in league one no doubt there will be increases as we got promoted. I'm unsure when the sponsorship deal ends, any new deal should comfortably be worth £10-£20 million per year!
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wazzosan added 13:23 - Apr 30 I'd like to see us go for a strong pacey forward. Someone like: 1) Lukaku Probably the most expensive of the lot but has shown what a talent he is a two different clubs. Could we get him? Not sure...some reports say he is only interested in Champions League football. 2) Bony Has been great this season for Swansea. Could we get him? Possibly. 3) Remi Probably the cheapest of the three but has scored for both QPR and Newcastle in the Premier League. I'm sure he'd rather come to us as opposed to going back to the Championship.

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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 16:22 - Apr 30 Yep, Lukaku or Bony would do very nicely but Swansea wouldn't sell unless we offered them really silly money ie. £18m or so, which is too much. Lukaku; I think Everton would be ahead of us in the queue if Chelsea were to sell but Saints should definitely have a go at signing him if they get the chance. Again, you're looking at a transfer fee of around £18m but for Lukaku that is acceptable. Remi would be great but there's a number of bigger clubs interested in him. Remi has said that he will only go to a club who's in the Champions League, but we should definitely go in for him anyway. £15m should be enough. Other targets; Carlos Bacca from Seville has the pace, power and ability to cut it in the Premiership, he'd be a good signing. £15m might get him. Alfred Finnbogason has been utterly prolific for Heerenveen scoring 52 goals in 63 games, he has great movement and is a natural born finisher. He might be worth a punt for £10m. Got to bear in mind the Dutch league isn't great though, even Steve De Ridder has scored 8 goals this season!!

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SaintlyTim added 21:16 - Apr 30 AAP deal ends 30 June.
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SanMarco added 23:55 - Apr 30 I agree with what you say about Mo Po deary but it is unfair to blame the Adkins signed Gaston on him!!
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ExiledSupporter added 13:40 - May 1 Many sound points made from most of the correspondents above but some key issues remain. As Nick points out a lot of money has been wasted with Cortese and Reed primarily to blame. I can't see that Adkins has any blame for Ramirez, clearly not a player that he had much say in signing (and I suspect the same went for Mayuka and Yoshida), he certainly had no say in signing Forren (and nor did Pochettinno) but unlike his succcessor Ramirez was a player that Adkins did at least play regularly in the first half of last season. No the money wasted in transfers was down to Reed primarily who presumably recommended them to Cortese who naively accepted his advice. I don't see any reason to think that Reed is likely to improve his poor record with a load more money in the near future. Ok, Pochettinno must have had a big part to play in signing Osvaldo (who may yet return if we can't flog him off to Juventus asap) and his judgement about DO's character was clearly flawed...but am I the only one who thinks that if he had been used properly ie. using his pace in the channels with a number 10 who could pass a ball shrewdly (wish it was Ramires, but I'm afraid this isn't going to materialise) then he might have been a success and his frustrations would not have ended in unacceptable violence. If £30m is on offer for Shaw then we should sell him, because we have other replacement options and could use the money for a striker, another centre back and a forward with real pace on the right hand side and use Lallana as a focused No.10 Personally I would prefer someone like Sessegnon because of his clever footwork, pace and habit of scoring vital goals at key moments, but also rate Zaha as a younger option. Sadly I don't think we are going to get either Lukaku or Bony, but it's that sort of player we need up front. I would avoid selling Cork or Schneiderlein at almost any cost and keep Lambert for half hour run outs from the bench. We do need a second keeper and should send Gazanigga out on long term loan, I think he will make it but he needs more exposure in a lower league. Caulker might be a good candidate for consideration, perhaps Oshea would be too if Sunderland go down (but not Brown), but isn't there a young British centreback in say the Championship that we could seize and develop. But I fear that if we leave it all to Reed we will get the disappointing mixture of good, poor and dreadful that we have had recently.

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aceofthebase added 19:15 - May 1 Torres fits the bill for a striker. Perhaps he will be off loaded by Chelsea at a much reduced price. Plenty of pace and energy and given good support will score many goals.
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richardmdcooper added 20:31 - May 1 Sanmarco - a little harsh on adkins there. Like exiled said, gaston was clearly not an NA signing. And Poch has actually benefited greatly from NA's signings like Cork, J-rod, Clyne and S Davis - would Poch be willing to make any of those types of signings now?!
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ExiledSupporter added 09:48 - May 2 Quite right richardcooper, Poch would never have suggested any of the players that you list because he would know so little about them and Reed would be unlikely to suggest them because of the previous regime's interest in marquee signings since we returned to the Prem. Ideally I'd like to see more prominent young English/British players signed than these players from overseas leagues who need a season or two to adjust to the English game and then are off again. The four you mention have all been excellent acquisitions and when allied to our own trainees make a team which gains us much goodwill from other fans. Of course this can't be a restrictive priority, but it should always be our first thought and it is the number of English players that we have in the first team that sends out a very positive message to other young and ambitious candidates.

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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 20:00 - May 2 In terms of targets mentioned above: Torres - Is way past his best and probably going back to Atletico. We should definitely not try to sign him. Sessegnon - Flatters to deceive. Seems to be massively talented with the ball at his feet but can't finish and rarely picks the right ball when it counts. He's the type of player to beat two defenders, round the keeper and then miss an open goal. If in doubt, ask any Sunderland or WBA supporters what his finishing is like. Zaha - Massive potential. Is one of the most skillful english players I've ever seen. We should try to sign him. Caulker - If Cardiff go down then we should be first in line to sign him. He could be a future England centre back.

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montecristo added 20:44 - May 6 I have already expresses the thought that Les Reed is not inspiring confidence and his statement today only reinforces that view, as he stated that he would not rule out the sale of Shaw and Lallana from happening. Any director of the club that says that is only going to destalibize the club, it was a very stupid thing to say and merely underlines the fact that the man just isnt director material.if the club is prepared to entertain the sale of either player and any other member of the first team then they want their heads inspecting, and perhaps it is this essentially that led to Cortese resigning ,that the owner is prepared to sell off the club s stars, somethiug that Cortese, for all his faults, certainly would not entertain.

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