Luke Shaw is set to leave St Mary's and head for Lancashire and the bight lights of Manchester United.
According to press reports Luke Shaw is going to undergo a medical today prior to signing for United in what is being described as a deal worth between £30 -40 million to Saints depending on what paper you read.
What is clear though is that this is a deal that Southampton Football Club are keen to do at that price, not because as some seem to think that they are keen on making money but due to the fact that they know from previous experience that it is better to do deals early in the summer rather than later and that applies to both outgoing as well as incoming transfers.
By getting the big deal of the summer done and dusted Saints are now able to concentrate on replacing Shaw as well as bringing in the players that they are after in other positions.
The transfer window is a little bit like buying a house, you can't buy your new one till you have sold the old and the fact that Saints are about to receive somewhere north of £30 million means that they are able to get in quick with their targets whilst other club's may not have the money yet.
Of course it is a blow to lose Shaw, but this is modern football and players no longer stay for long periods at a club, the trick is always to sell a player when his price is inflated and either have his replacement already in house or lined up.
It was always going to be hard to keep Shaw, not only has he ambitions to play for a big club, but the wages on offer would far exceed anything Saints would be able to match, yes of course there are some that say we should have, but the stark reality is that too many football clubs have gone down that road, we only have to look at Pompey to see that, what we want to do is build a stable club that is able to grow and compete in the Premier League.
So good luck to Luke Shaw hopefully yet another Saints player who has been part of a successful conveyor belt that stretches back 50 years since the days of Ted Bates.