Dusic

Hopefully we can £5m or so for him and both parties can move on, he obviously doesn't have a future at Saints and another loan does no favours.

Tella is definitely seen as a striker. Armstrong is definitely a striker primarily. Would be shocked if we signed him and then intended to play him as a #10.

Disagree re striker. I mean Ings will likely go anyway, in which case his replacement is the most importsnt decision to get right this summer, quite likely with many targets having already moved by the time his situation evolves. Even if he does stay we need one. Reasons: 1. Ings does tend to pick up injuries 2. Tella totally unproven in terms of actually scoring goals 3. Long, Obafemi, N'Lundulu should all be elsewhere this season 4. Walcott and Redmond can do a job if needed but aren't really a goal threat. A player like Armstrong (genuine striker, natural finisher) would add a good option, from the bench initially. Also takes the pressure off slightly if Ings were to leave in Jan or on a free.

Indeed. Considering our signing will need to start pretty much every game when fit due to lack of cover I am happier to bring in Perraud who comes off the back of two seasons playing lots of games rather than someone who hasn't had regular minutes.

https://www.footballinsider247.com/southampton-set-to-beat-leeds-united-to-perraud-signing/ Tier 1 confirmation from the peerless Wayne Veysey.

Yep, wouldn't send a good message. Villa are persistent and that must be having had at least some sign of interest from ESR.

Thanks Marco - how would you describe his game? Strengths/weaknesses etc.

Doubt that, its not so much of a story as a factual statement. All the clubs have known he is available and at what price for ages so you would hope any interest would already have been declared. Reality is, given the size of club we are the deal could be hikacked - until its signed anything can happen. But clearly its very advanced so hopefully gets done shortly as seems a great buy at a good price.

Players doing well in the latter stages of a Euros are going to be well beyond us.

Stig Johansen has told Football Insider that he feels James Tarkowski would be right to leave Burnley this summer.

Perraud not in the France squad for the Olympics which is good news if he does sign.

No point IMO unless there was a tight option to buy. Reality is if a player that highly rated came here and did very well there would be no chance we would sign him permanently. We signed Salisu last summer to a bit of fanfare and he looked good when he played. I think Vestergaard will go and our no1 pairing will be Bednarek and Salisu.

How it started: How its going:

Reports from Portugal suggest Porto are interested in Perraud. Hopefully we have an agreement in place.

Is Phillips better than Bednarek? I haven't seen much to suggest so. If any CB leaves it will be Vestergaard.

So you would be happy to only have three senior full backs, one of whom is only on loan? Guarentee you, as with last season, every other PL club will have four.

Rohl didn't cause our poor form in 2021.

Mike McGrath is one of the DT's more accurate reporters when it comes to transfers. Not seen much of Armstrong but you can see clearly that he is a natural finisher. Whether he has enough about him to get those chances in the PL, I am not sure. He could been seen as an Ings replacement but that would be a ludicrous gamble. As an addition alongside Ings it would give us three strikers plus Tella and Walcott - so well stocked. Sell N'Lundulu, loan Obafemi and Long (til contract ends). Obviously all depends on Ings and that situation will go on for a while unfortunately.

The club has been ripe for a sale for probably two years, perhaps longer - and nobdy credible has come forward. Suggests to me that in order for something to happen it would take either a.) Gao reducing the asking price b.) Events (relegation) forcing Gao to reduce the asking price This will rumble on for ages yet.

We don't need Christie and the fact he is cheap shouldn't be a driver to sign someone. He isnt better than Armstrong and Redmond (despite the feeling on here), we have just signed Walcott, still have Djenepo and might get another player in that position. Tella can also play there although I think he is now considered as a striker.

Perhaps. He is in contract talks though and nothing has yet been agreed, so the interest suits him either way. JWP signed a new 5yr deal last summer, so in theory unless he makes it clear he wants to leave then its a non starter. Unless the Villa owners just want to do some media posturing, but to be fair they have put their money where their mouth is in their tenure so far.

https://www.footballinsider247.com/sources-ward-prowse-stance-on-quitting-southampton-for-aston-villa-revealed/ Can take this as an iffy source, but also why would Villa even be making a move for JWP unless they knew he would have some interest in it?

We missed out not getting him on the pitch, but the scouting department should take a lot of credit for unearthing the lad. Along with BWP Saints have had a key role in the development of two MLS MVPs.

Many will fondly recall his loan spell in 2002. He has recently turned 40 and has seemingly been retired for a few years since playing for San Antonio Scorpians and the Las Vegas Legends (Infoor) team. Has anyone seen or heard from the Hass recently, or know what he is up to?

These US takeovers are usually bad news. In fact, most takeovers these days don't seem to end well. What a fairytale ML was.