Saints are being linked with that man Chester, or to be more precise James Chester the Hull City central defender.

Saints are supposedly going to make a bid for Hull's James Chester who ironically enough started his career with Manchester United before joint Hull in 2011.

After relegation Hull have slapped a £10 million price tag on his head although finances may mean they take less.

This price won't daunt Saints, however it could put off other potential suitors who are said to include Everton, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Crystal Palace & West Brom who may not feel that they can afford that outlay.

Whether Chester would be the only central defensive signing or one of two arrivals in that position is unclear, some reports have suggested that Ronald Koeman may look to bring two in after the loss of Gardos means that he is two short in the centre of the back four fro last season, however Gardos could be back in January and Martina is also able to operate as a centre back, so although two good quality signings would be ideal and certainly provide competition as well as looking to the future it is not essential.

What is essential though is at least one top quality centre half and I'm not quite sure that Chester would be that man.

Photo: Action Images

corkcitysaint added 09:18 - Jul 25 I would hope that we've been doing our research on CB's before now seeing as the situation with Toby was always shaky. We always needed at least one other to add to the squad. It has been strangely quiet on that front with the exceptions of a few rumblings about Van Djik. I would have thought that we would have had targets in mind in case the deal with Toby went south, which it did. As soon as that was resolved we would make our moves. Now, it just seems a bit knee-jerk or a scramble to find someone. And possibly, will cost us more.

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tempo77 added 09:46 - Jul 25 I get the impression that everything's gone quiet on the centre back front because having failed to land aldeirweld our main priority is Van Dijk, and with Celtic having stated previously he won't be going anywhere until they've qualified for the champions league. Therefore I reckon things will remain quiet until. In addition it should be noted that in all likelihood this link to Chester has been created by his agent as the mirror who originally reported it have no sources at all to their story, merely they think he could be on our wish list, which they can happily report and say about absolutely anyone!

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abingdonsaint added 09:47 - Jul 25 Not sure about this one, but Saints most certainly do not do 'kneejerk'! The recruitment team are constantly monitoring potential players in all positions, not just CB. I'm sure something will happen shortly, and Van Dijk would not surprise me in the least. Patience!
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StRipper added 10:13 - Jul 25 I think there was substance to the Ogbonna interest but we left it too late whilst we negotiated for Alderweireld. Something else we can thank him for as a result of messing us about
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BUCK added 11:48 - Jul 25 NO DOUBT IN MY MIND WE NEED 2 DEFENDERS AND THIS CHESTERS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO HOLD A REGULAR STARTING PLACE IN OUR LINE UP. FOR GODS SAKE, GO GET VIRGIL VAN DIJK
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IWOZTHERE added 16:03 - Jul 25 I know nothing about Chester but can't see us paying anywhere near that money for a 'benchwarmer' assuming the number one target is Van Dijk. I'm still hoping there's some sort of agreement in place for the latter but it's probably not 'set in stone' so it's got a bit messy losing Gardos. Can Ron afford to assume we're going to get Van Dijk and just sign a backup or does he go for a more expensive option now, plus backup, and opt out of the rumoured Van Dijk option if indeed he can? My head hurts now.......

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SaintBrock added 17:00 - Jul 25 If you believe anything the Mirror says you'll believe that Gardos was injured during the Feyenoord match!!! That will tell you all you need to know. Hull were relegated right? Chester was partly to blame surely so why would we want him. Maybe we can turn nuggets into pure gold but don't bet your house eon it happening every time we sign a dunce.
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SonicBoom added 19:06 - Jul 25 Isn't he five nine? That's nowhere near big enough for a centre back
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