Saints could lose as many as 15 players in this transfer window, but with the Championship season only 3 weeks away, they need all these so called big clubs to put their money where their mouths are and actually put some serious bids in.
Russell Martin knows that he is going to lose a large chunk of his squad this transfer window, relegation means that many of those whose underperformance led to our downfall, are now keen to leave the club and play in the division that they feel is their God given right to grace.
That is the Premier League, although some showed that they don't realise that it is hard work and application that keeps you there.
The agents have been bust these last few weeks and the rumours are flying thick and fast, but if Liverpool are so desperate to get Romeo Lavia, Newcastle keen on Tino Livramento and various clubs interested in Salisu & Bella Kotchap, then why are they not putting their money where their mouths are and actually making a serious attempt to sign our fallen heroes ?
The problem for Saints is not that players will be sold, it is they want them sold now so they can rebuild the squad.
I would like to think that we would set a deadline for a player to leave, that we would tell those that want to leave , that they do so before the start of the Championship season or the club will not entertain any further offers until the January transfer window.
Of course it doesn't quite work like that these days, the players and the agents call the shots and back in 2017 we had perhaps one of our first experiences of that when first Jose Fonte forced a move in the January only a year after signing a long term deal and then 6 months a year later when Virgil Van Dyke showed that even when a club insists that you stay and honour your contract, that it isn't necessarily the best outcome for them.
So in the meantime we read of how West Ham are about to show that they are one of the big boys by launching a bid for James Ward Prowse, only problem is that they aren't, although i'm sure that the agents are talking, it seems that the Hammers are keen on Ward Prowse, but their starting offer is £20 million, that should tell JWP something about how serious they are.
But it is Saints who suffer, our summer sale could bring in £200 million, we only need to spent about £50 million of that to add the players we need to get us in the Promotion frame, but until we sell we haven't got it.
It is my understanding that Dragan Solvak personally put up the money to sign Shea Charles from Manchester City, but that will be a temporary measure to ease cash flow and enable us to make the signing, but is he willing to put up the remaining £35 million.
We need to know who is staying and who is going so we can make the signings in the areas we are going to be short, those who are coming in also want to know that they will be getting a place in the starting line up and not on the bench because one of last season's stars has not proved as popular as his agent told him he is.
It will be a shame to see so many leave, but this period of uncertainty is not good, far better to get rid of those that want to go and get on with the job of rebuilding.
As I said ideally we would set a deadline, but the fact is clubs relegated from the Premier League need to get money off the wage bill and therefore the Championship season could be going almost a month before we see some players leave and that is not good.