Dusic

Wouldnt be a disaster to keep Cedric IMO if he is committed. He is a decent PL quality player, rarely injured and happy to cover LB as well as RB. Keep for a year, lose on a free next summer which isnt much of a loss as we only paid £4m for him and he wouldnt generate much this summer anyway.

Clearly we are going to end up keeping some we would rather get rid of, which is less than ideal. I am worried that there are about 30 days of the window left and its feasible to need the following as a minimum I would say: Sales/Loans: Austin Gallagher Carillo Boufal Lemina McCarthy or Forster Reed Hesketh Clasie At least one CB Cedric Buys: CB Fullback cover (if Cedric goes) CM (if Lemina goes) Thats basically a deal completed every two days until the end of the window. I think Cedric will end up staying til hia contract expires and therefore we won't bring in a full back.

No current, semi-plausible links at the moment which is strange mid window. Feels like what happens next will very much be determined by outgoings. Surely we won't sign a 6th first team CB until at least one of the current five leaves? Likewise RB with Cedric.

Think his ego would push him to go out and play, and if he didnt then I doubt there would be a queue of great clubs in for him in a years time, even as a free agent. A club like WBA on a 3 year deal would be a great move for him.

Much better value than most of the dross we have on £60k per week and above.

I get the impression we want to overhaul the squad but can't afford to, especially as we have loads of ****e we are still paying transfer installments for. Lemina, like Targett probably wasnt on the list of priority sales but fell into the category of being capable of attracting sizeable bids and not being a totally key player. Therefore, they are sacrificial lambs because we can't sell the mountain goats like Carrillo and Hoedt so will either loan them out at a huge loss or keep them. At this stage we have about 10 outs to do in a month and how close we get to all 10 being sold will directly impact incomings.

If we are happy to lose him on a free next sunmer then he could be a good option as able to cover LB at a push. Not sure his ego would cope being behind Valery, but at least he is a decent PL quality player unlike Hoedt, Clasie etc.

Agree with much of that, but have to remember there is still a month to go and most deals happen in the last month. Also we have at least 10 players to sell or loan out which is probably hampering our ability to make more additions. All the below are surplus to requirement or clearly leaving but still here on first team wages at the moment: Forster McCarthy Cedric Stephens Hoedt Clasie Lemina Reed Hesketh Boufal Elyounoussi Carrillo Austin Gallagher Also the window shuts earlier for us than most of Europe which reduces their urgency. Why sign Hoedt, Cedric, Boufal or Carillo now when you can wait and get someone better? That said, if we need a CB, RB and CM. But Saints always leave one position massively under resourced so who knows...

Whoever we sign as a CB has to be someone who is in our starting XI (in a back 4) otherwise its a pointless signing. I don't see the likes of Konsa or Webster being immediately better than Yoshida or Vestergaard. I agree totally with the U24 policy re signings but also feel this position could be one that it doesnt apply to, unless there is an exceptional young CB, ready to play every week in the PL who is less than £20m and happy to sign for Saints. Should be easy...

Mail says we have had enquiries from Man Utd, Arsenal and Leicester, plus Atalanta. Shows what a talent he is, when he applies himself and that it may be possible to get a good fee for him.

1. Central midfield could do with a signing 2. We have so many average CBs and surely cannot sign another without letting one or two leave (easier said than done). 3. Fullback cover needs addressing 4. Likes of Reed, Hesketh, Gallagher etc clearly have no future so hopefully we can generate a little more cash from them.

Sounds like Bmth are in for Dragowski, the Fiorentina keeper we were strangely linked with. Certainly cheaper than Butland!

Will be interesting to see who is in the group for the Austria trip. Will the Intls join? Which young players will go? Will the likes of Hoedt, Carrillo, Clasie and Cedric travel? First indications of the Manager's thinking I reckon. Can't see he will waste time on anyone he doesn't think will have a role to play in the season.

I agree with most of this. There have been a handful of games, Palace away under Pellegrino, Bournemouth at home under Hughes where has absolutely bossed the game and looked an £80m midfielder. He clearly has the talent and physical attributes to be a really good player. But if he did it often then he would be starting for Juve now. IMO under a decent Manager he could be more consistent so I hope he gets a chance to show it, but once players start talking about leaving its usually better to let them go. I would prefer he went abroad though as feel otherwise he will come back to haunt us and quadruple his value after a good season.

From the horses mouth: https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2019/mario-lemina-i-dont-rule-out-leaving-southampton/ I think if we get a good offer (£20m +) then fair enough. If not, I still think he can be a key player.

Funnily enough I considered that but Thommo is under 6' which is obviously short for a centre half so didn't feel he could really compete against Powell on that basis who is 6'3. I've got a draft of a Valery vs Thomas speculative long range screamer scenario thread, but will let it mature for a couple of years.

Probably the first time in the summer so far that there are no really strong rumours. Surely will see some CBs linked soon seeing as we have openly said thats the next position that will be targetted.

Scenario: Its the 92nd minute at a sparsely populated St Marys and we are 2-1 up against Forest Green Rovers in the FA Cup (third round). Forest Green (playing in their vegan kit made from bamboo) pump a long ball forward in search of an equaliser. Ex Spenymoor Town striker Junior Mondal is the likely target Who would you rather was challenging for the ball in a Saints shirt (Under Armour with LD Sports logo peeling off), Darren Powell or Neal Trotman? Personally, I would go for Powelly all day long but I know Trotman has support on here.

Why? He won't play and then will leave for free next summer when his contract ends. We should be trying to get whatever we can and move on.

Yeah was impressed with him whilst watching Djenepo.

Bougal only has two years on his contract, which has about 0.17% chance of being extended. I think now is exactly the time to sell, even if for a knockdown fee. Im sure when it comes to it we would accept £8m or so, as come next summer he will be worth less.

Most of our (few) best performances under Pellegrino and Hughes coincided with Lemina being quality. He has the raw attributes to be a great player and now we have a good Manager it would be a shame to not be able to see what he could make of Lemina.

Good player, good age, good experience, signing from a PL rival. Its mental but its also the going rate. See AWB, Maguire etc.

Ayoze Perez is a cracking signing for Leicester. They are building a really good squad, probably a better starting XI than Arsenal IMO.

Anyone know how we are doing on the homegrown front now Targett has gone?