Burnley are naturally interested in making last season's loan signing from Saints Nathan Tella, a permanent deal but are said to be baulking at the asking price, however former Saints midfielder Carlton Palmer believes that this is not over the top.
It is fair to say that a year ago Nathan Tella was at a crossroads with his career, having played almost 40 games in the Premier League and scored just once, it would have been easy for Southampton to have let him go.
If then newly relegated Burnley had take a punt his value would have been around the £2 million mark according to Transfermarkt
However Saints still had faith in Tella's ability, they had signed him to a new 3 1/2 year deal in January 2022 and their view was that he had the talent, he just needed to go to a club that would give him a lot more gametime than he would be likely to get at St Mary's in the 2022/23 season given the influx of new arrivals.
A year later and he now has a season in the Championship under his belt, he played 39 games, scored 17 goals plus 5 assists and was a big part of the Lancashire club's runaway promotion back to the Premier League.
Now Burnley are looking to sign him on a permanent basis, but Saints still having two years left on his contract are in no hurry to sell and indeed would quite like him to repeat the feat he achieved with Burnley, again in 2023/24 this time in a Southampton shirt.
They are said to have set a minimum price of £15 million for Tella's services if they are to sell, something that it seems that Burnley are loathe to pay.
Transfermarkt agree with Saints and so does ex Southampton midfielder in the 1990's Carlton Palmer, speaking to footballleagueworld.com Palmer had this to say.
"Southampton's Nathan Tella has had a fantastic season at Burnley on loan, finishing up with 17 goals, their leading goalscorer as they were promoted back to the Premier League,"
"Southampton have put a price tag of around £15 million around his neck which is a fair price I believe in today's market."
"From Southampton's point of view, if Burnley or anybody else does not want to pay the asking price, they know they have a player who has performed very, very well in the Championship and can aid their chances of an immediate return to the Premier League."
When setting the fee, Saints will point to the amount they paid for Che Adams 4 years ago, Adams had just had a similar season for Birmingham in the Championship and cost around £15 million, likewise Adam Armstrong when arriving from Blackburn in 2021, he was a little dearer at £16 million, but had scored more goals.
So Carlton Palmer is not too far off the mark when he values Tella, it is Burnley who seem to have lost a little grip on reality, they are back in the Premier League and need to think like a Premier League club again, or perhaps their owners aren't really interested in funding staying in the top flight and would prefer an up and down existence.
Last world to Nathan Tella, who speaking on the radio in Lancashire had this to say.
"I haven’t really thought about it, I know I’m contracted to Southampton so I’m looking forward to going back there and doing pre-season," Tella told BBC Radio Lancashire last month"
"I’m looking forward to seeing my family and friends and going on holiday with them, that’s it. It’s a very good question but one I don’t have the answer to right now."