Saints are being linked with making a move for several of their former players, but is their any substance or is it just lazy journalism.

With Saints fan hankering for a return to the type of football played under old manager Ronald Koeman, it will be interesting to see how many would be prepared to forgive a few of our old players who will be seeking moves in the January transfer window.

The two currently being linked are Luke Shaw and Morgan Schneiderlin, both went to Manchester United and both were not exactly success's at Old Trafford and now it seems Schneiderlin's move to Everton has not worked out either with rumours suggesting that he has been banned from training with the first team their due to a poor attitude.

Certainly both of their career paths have gone in a downward spiral since their departure from St Mary's but there are still several obstacles in the way of a move, for both of them it could be that they would see returning to Saints as failure and so such a move would not attract, but a second reason would be that Saints currently have plenty of options in the positions they previously occupied.

In the case of Schneiderlin, both Mario Lemina and Oriol Romeu have excelled in the centre of the Saints midfield and given we also have a plethora of other central midfielders, unless we intended cashing in on one of the two, then signing Schneiderlin would seem to be nothing else other than just cluttering up the midfield.

Everton would be looking to get back a substantial amount of the £20 million they spent only ten months ago and would Saints be willing to pay that plus his high wages on a player that has now been underperforming for 2 1/2 years since his departure from Saints, plus with three years left on his contract, the player himself will find it hard to find another club willing to match his wages nor will he find a suitor in either the top six, indeed add Saints and everton to that number and his options in England at least are limited.

Luke Shaw is another whose career has gone South as he has gone North, stil only 22 he has barely kicked a ball in anger in the past year or so and as he heads for the fourth anniverary of his departure from Saints, he still has not managed to make half the Premier League appearances that he did in just over 1 1/2 seasons as a first team regular at St Mary's.

Injury has played a part in that and aso has lifestyle and attitude according to both his current manager and his previous one at Saints.

The issue for United is that his contract runs out in the summer and in January they have to decide whether to exersise their option for a further year, they are likely to do that to try and recoup some money, if they do not excersise it he will walk for nothing, if they do then it will cost them around £5 million in wages and signing on fees etc, but they might be able to sell him in the summer for in excess of that without actually having had to pay out most of it.

So it is likely that any potental suitor will have to pay his market value as United look to sell in January, but given his track record who out there would be willing to risk a not inconsiderable outlay in both transfer fee and wages, most of the clubs who might be interested don't have the money the likes of United do to gamble on his fitness.

From a Saints perspective, if they were to sell Ryan Bertrand in January then buying Shaw could be affordable and indeed would complete a perfect circle with Saints coming out of a 3 1/2 year spell both in profit and having got the best of both players form.

They also have both Matt Targett and Sam McQueen who are experienced at this level and who are highly rated. so again Shaw might not be attractive.

Perhaps the biggest reason though might be Shaw's style of play, when he left St Mary's I prdicted that he would struggle at Old Trafford, he is more a traditional left back than a modern wing back type of player, these days it is about getting your full backs up and down the line and putting in crosses, in his time at Saints Shaw could never do that, his crossing was average at best and he had only one assist to his name, his style is just a little dated.

The third of the prodigal sons could be Calum Chambers, he was linked with several clubs in the summer including Saints but ended up going nowhere, he has played only one game this season for the Gunners but has been injured and they will probably look to unload him if the deal is right, they only extended his contract last month but the main reason could be more about protecting their investment than his actual chances of making the first team at Arsenal where he has barely played a Premier League game in almost two years, although he did spend most of last season on loan at Middlesbrough.

Of the three Chambers is the most likely for Saints to make a bid for, the transfer issues in January are going to be about central defence both in and out and although Virgil Van Dijk might have to stay for the summer Saints will be keen to try and have his replacement lined up if not in January but for the transfer window opening.

Photo: Action Images

SanMarco added 10:45 - Nov 13 "they would see returning to Saints as failure " - well they have failed haven't they? As you say Chambers is the only possibility but I believe (even if VVD goes) the attacking problems need to be the priority in January. Leave the rest until the summer, when I expect there will be a full-back exodus + Hoedt may get twitchy if he stays on the bench long-term.
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SonicBoom added 10:47 - Nov 13 The problem for us is that none of them have improved since they left. None are better players now than when they left. For various reasons. But I would bet that their clubs would all expect the same money, if not more for all of them. That's really not good business for us. If the clubs want rid then they should drop the prices and if those players want to play they shouldn't expect the same wages.

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SonicBoom added 11:05 - Nov 13 Oh and Targett and McQueen highly rated ? They barely get a kick now and I suspect they are only on contracts to protect some value as and when we let them leave.
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redandwhitedee added 11:24 - Nov 13 We don't need Chambers or Shaw, and I highly doubt Morgan would return, but in any case what's wrong with playing Lemina, Romeu and Schneiderlin together as a 3 in central midfield ? i don't see why one of the former have to make way. This would allow Lemina freedom to roam - that's where he will be best employed. His attacking instincts are wasted as a holding midfielder.

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IWOZTHERE added 11:37 - Nov 13 I rate McQeen and would not be upset if he got the nod if RB left. I would be upset if the money wasn't used where needed. That goes for the sale of VVD as well....Even with those exits we would be well covered in defence and defensive midfield. FFS Les wake up. It was obvious what we needed in the Summer and negligent not to act when we were, on the face of it, an attractive proposition to available players (and managers). Who's going to want to come here if we're struggling near the bottom, come Christmas?

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highfield49 added 11:45 - Nov 13 Not too many weeks back Walcott was on the prodigal list as well but it was difficult to see him improving our goal scoring abilities to any great extent. With Davis close to the end of his career, certainly at the top level, bringing Morgan back into the fold would make sense but none of the other fading stars would add much, if anything, to the squad. Like others have pointed out Hoedt is the natural replacement for VVD and our need is for goal scorers and creators above all else.

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landerwal added 11:47 - Nov 13 Players very rarely do well when they return to their old club. However, Shaw was the regular left back for Man U and England until his injury and his transfer appears to have been orchestrated by his manager who seems to have taken a personal dislike to him. As far as attitude is concerned, he had a horrendous injury from which he recovered from far quicker than many thought possible. Given his still young age and his rumoured preference to return to Saints, I would buy him, especially if Bertrand moves on. Saints have an excellent record on improving players whose careers are going nowhere, Bertrand been a case in point. Buying any player is a gamble, but given the right encouragement, he could turn out to be a great resign.

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SaintPaulVW added 12:09 - Nov 13 On what planet? Can't score so let's buy a defensive midfielder and a left back. Why that would be almost as bananas as writing about our optimum Central Defensive pairing each week during the current goal drought.
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SaintBrock added 13:25 - Nov 13 Nah!
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ItchenNorth added 13:32 - Nov 13 Its all just journalistic filler in the main. When do Saints ever sign players that the media link with us at this early stage in proceedings. Come back two weeks before the transfer deadline day, then the list of links may actually be of some merit of debate. For my ten penith; i'd take Mogan back, because where are we really going with JWP or Hojberg for example !

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BoondockSaint added 13:59 - Nov 13 Bale and Mane??!!! Oh, Shaw and Schneiderlin.......... That was a cruel tease, Nick.
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saintmark1976 added 14:07 - Nov 13 What? Has it come to recycling our old players? If so then something has gone badly wrong with our scouting system not to mention the academy. It has been suggested that one candidate has a problem training and another with his personal life, leaving a player that was a member of a club relegated last term.
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JimmyMeliaPhD added 15:56 - Nov 13 Of course it;s not happening, and personally I wouldn't want any of those blokes back. I disagree with highfiled49 about Walcott, though. He'd make a huge difference in terms of goalscoring. As I've pointed out here before, last season he scored 19 goals in 37 appearances for Arsenal, despite not being first choice by a long shot. I'd have him back in flash
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leftfield added 23:13 - Nov 13 Is it just me? We need a big bloke up front, strong in the air, right foot like a howitzer, naturally good footballer and inherently a leader, to boss the line and provide a platform for the poacher and the fast ones to feed off. We have Hoedt, maya and Stephens at CB, plus one other who doesn’t seem to want to play there. Graziano van dijk....
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leftfield added 23:17 - Nov 13 And while i’m at it, tadic left footed on the right, Redmond right footed on the left, no crosses getting into the box.....
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IWOZTHERE added 10:56 - Nov 14 I'd love to have Schneiders back but why. We have two very capable guys in deep midfield. We need a provider to create, first and foremost. Big bucks...as near as we can afford to someone like Sigurdsen or Ericsson. Tadic (particularly played wide), fannies around too much, he's part of the 'slow development' problem.
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aceofthebase added 11:10 - Nov 14 Get them all back, including Lallana, Bale etc.. They played attacking skillful football and scored goals, not like present lot!. I know I'm living in the past but while I'm at it how about Nigel Adkins having a fair chance at the top level.
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dirk_doone added 11:18 - Nov 14 We certainly don't need Schneiderlin because defensive midfield is one area where we don't need strengthening and Schneiderlin (28) is no more than mediocre by Premier League standards and at his age unlikely to get any better. Lemina and Romeu look better than him. If the club plans to sell both Bertrand and van Dijk, then Shaw (22) and Chambers (22) would be worth considering, especially as they have so many years ahead of them.

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underweststand added 16:53 - Nov 15 "Never go back" is a much-quoted football saying which too often proves to be true. The success of many of those who moved on " to greener pastures " often comes unstuck simply because they were dependant on a certain playing formation which worked for them, and are too often played out of position in their new clubs. Bale was laughing stock in his first year at Spurs, and both Walcott and Alex-Ox took time to even get starts with Wenger's Arsenal set-up. Brendan Rodgers failed to see that the success of the Lambert/ Lallana combination at Saints was to have them on the pitch ...at the same time (!). The thought of having either Walcott, Shaw or Schneiderlin back at SMS sounds like a dream scenario to some, but before we go overboard about that one, ask yourself -who would they replace and who would be redundant ?- if so.

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JimmyMeliaPhD added 23:32 - Nov 15 underweststand...no problem, Replace both Tadic and Redmond. with Walcott and play with 10 men. We'd be better off that way than we are now. That said, the biggest problem remains...the manager and his idea that everything a player does should be defensive (see interview with Romeu a while back). No wonder the forwards can't score...they're asking themselves, how can my strike at goal be sufficiently defensive-minded for the coach?

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