Speaking at Monday night's fans forum at St Mary's, Russell Martin addressed the issues surrounding Kyle Walker Peter's and had an interesting take on the situation whatever happens in the next couple of weeks.
Fans forum's are usually affairs that tell those attending very little that they didn't already know, that is not the fault of those answering the questions from the floor, but the plain truth is that those running football club's be they the manager or representing the board, can say little information that is not already out there in the public domain.
The manager especially has to keep his cards close to his chest and can hardly reveal his list of transfer targets or where he feels the team needs strengthening, so as to not alert other clubs to his intentions or for that matter to avoid upsetting his own squad members, no one likes to hear the manager doesn't rate you and is actively seeking to replace you on the eve of the season, that is hardly motivation for the season.
But Russell Martin was very candid about the Kyle Walker Peters situation, he revealed that he sees it as a win win situation for the club, obviously he would prefer KWP to stay and sign a new deal, but if that doesn't happen, Saints will pocket a large fee that will enable the manager to reinvest in other areas.
He had this to say:
"He's a top player. I don't need to say it. He was brilliant for us last season. Some of the stuff he can do with the ball, I can only dream of.
"We're in discussions with him and he will make a decision based on his career. It won't be the fact that we don't want to keep him or haven't tried to.
"We are trying to keep him here for the longer term. Short term, I hope he's here for the season, whatever happens. It's not ideal for someone to be in the last year.
"I think last season, as Stuart Armstrong and Che Adams showed, if they're all in and they're committed, they can contribute hugely anyway."
"If Kyle ends up staying, which I hope he does, the best case scenario is he signs a new contract and everyone's really happy.
"The worst case for me right now is that he stays and is then on a free next summer, which helps us stay in the Premier League. So it's a win-win in the short term.
"Hopefully, we get the long-term win as well. If he ends up leaving before the end of this window, that means that the club can reinvest in someone else.
"Are we trying to keep him? Yes. Is he desperate to leave and kicking up a fuss? Not at all. He's a brilliant professional and played really well on Saturday.
"While he is here, he will be in contention to play in the team. Then the rest after that is sort of beyond our control. We've done everything we can.
"Phil Parsons and the ownership group have made a big effort to keep him and we've made a big effort in the way that we treat him.
"Then it's down to his decision and we'll respect that. I don't begrudge that and it's not personal, it's about his life and his career."
A very honest appraisal from the Saints manager and I have to say I agree with it, of course it is not ideal going into the final weeks of the transfer window and indeed for that matter the season with KWP's future up in the air, but a year ago we were in the same position with several players and they played in the opening games of the season and put in a shift, James Ward Prowse played in the season's opened at Sheffield Wednesday, as did Nathan Tella, who played several more games and scored as well before leaving for Germany and of course Che Adams who stayed the season and helped the club to promotion.
I don't blame Kyle Walker-Peters himself, he has to do what is best for his career, he is at a crossroads, he has been at St Mary's for 4 1/2 years and he is now 27, in many respects this is probably his last chance of a move to a truly big club, he will turn 28 before the season ends and that is the usually the top end of the scale when clubs are looking to sign players.
But big clubs needing his services are thin on the ground, Tottenham Hotspur the club from whom he joined Saints in 2020 are said to be lurking after West Ham United ended their interest seemingly to land Wan Bisaka from Manchester United.
But KWP will want to leave things late and hope that a big club comes in for him, that is best for him but not best for us.
Spurs interest could be bad news for news for Saints, they are known for their stubbornness to pay the going price for a player, as we have found out to our cost in the past, Neil Ruddock in 1992 being evidence of that, they sold him to us in 1989 as an unproven youngster for £200, 000 and then bought him back 3 years later with their initial offer being exactly the same price, they rely on a players desperation to join them meaning he will push though the transfer and force the club to sell cheaply.
The Ruddock tribunal went to a tribunal and we got a derisory £750k for a players who was now an experienced Premier League player and a year later Spurs sold him to Liverpool for £2.5 million, that was the way they did business back then and it is the way they do it now.
Kyle Walker Peter's transfer value is north of £20 million, but I suspect if Spurs do come in that their opening offer will not be much more than the £12.5 million that we paid them for him back in 2020.
But as the manager has said, it is a win win situation, we already have KWP's replacement at the club in Yukinari Sugawara, but for Southampton it would be best if this situation is sorted sooner than later, whatever way it goes.