According to media reports Ryan Bertrand's representatives has informed the club that with negotiations stalled on a new deal he will now leave the club at the end of the season after 7 years at the club.
Media outlet HampshireLive are reporting that they have been told that Ryan Bertrand's agents have now informed the club that he will not be signing the offer on the table and that with the club unlikely to make an improved offer for a player who will turn 32 before the start of next season t is now looking certain that the left back will leave St Mary's after 7 years.
Ralph Hasenhuttl told HampshireLive that the 32-year-old was still to sign the contract that the club had put in front of him with his terms now into their final two months.
They also claim that they were told separately that Saints made it clear to Bertrand that the time would soon come for them to withdraw their offer - and talks are now close to collapse.
The sticking point seems to be the length of the contract , although no one on either side will confirm or deny this it seems that the club are offering him a two year deal whilst the player himself wants 3 years, perhaps with the final year seeing him start to move more towards a role in the executive side of the club, Bertrand has expressed publicly that he sees his future in the game in the boardroom not on the training pitch.
Indeed he has in the past made clear that he would be happy to stay with Saints until his retirement, after which he is eyeing a career in the boardroom.
But Saints who have spent the last few years seeing transfer plans hampered financially by a number of players on high wages who are unable to get in the first team seem to want to avoid that situation with Bertrand.
They seem to feel that they will take the risk that he has another couple of years left in him, but that it is unlikely that he will be still able to play to the high standards needed in the Premier League as he approaches 35.
Even the biggest fan of Bertrand might concede they would have a point, Bertrand's game is a very high octane way of playing , central defenders, holding midfielders and centre forwards can adapt as their legs start to go, but for full backs/wing backs it is not quite so easy.
There will be those that take Bertrand's decision as a snub to Saints, but I think if he does leave then he should do so with the gratitude of all Saints supporters , since joining the club initially on loan in the summer of 2014 and then converted to a permanent deal in January 2015 for a fee of around £10 million he has been an excellent signing.
It may be that he does not play another game for the club Ralph Hasenhuttl has stated that his absence from the team at the moment is injury related and nothing to do with contract talks, but with only 3 games left even if Bertrand recovers for these fixtures it is likely Ralph will stick with those who will be here next season.
If that is the case Bertrand will end his time at St Mary's having started 213 Premier League games for Saints plus another as sub scoring 7 times, he also played in various cup competitions including 3 semi finals and 1 final adding another 20 starts and 1 off the bench as well as another goal to his tally.
This being the case Ryan Bertrand deserves to be spoken of as a Saints legend, a consistent performer who would challenge for the left back spot in a Greatest ever Saints XI.
Of course he would face stiff competition as it is a position that we have been blessed in over the years, but in the last half a century in that position only David Peach and Francis Benali have played more games and in the modern day game players who rack up over 200 appearances for a club are becoming a rarity