Saint Charlie

Possibly not. But he will look silly if Koeman's version of events differs from his own. As Armstrong said, if Reed says that there is no need for talks until both parties are aligned on the philosophical stuff then later says that talks are happening then you assume the philosophical stuff is sorted. Money shouldn't be an issue so assuming what Reed says is accurate then there shouldn't be too much of an issue unless other factors come in to play (or have done) such an other club interest.

Taken on face value: sounds hopeful and ties in with what both parties have said before.

Maybe. I would trust the De Telegraaf article more than John Cross anyway.

Only if he is a Toby.

On the whole topic: its hard to find players who are able to marry the attributes of being strong and mobile enough for PL football whilst a good enough defender and also capable on the ball. Facing some of the best attackers around its probably the toughest position for a young player to break into. Stephens, Turnbull and McCarthy are decent players but you need to be more than decent for regular PL games. Alfie Jones could break the mould, he looks very promising and composed. Still think Stephens could get some games for us, maybe in Europe and is versatile too.

Mane and Wanyama would be unattainable for a team like Saints if they played already in the PL for a middling side. If we were linked with a PL based player as good as Mane we would be buzzing about it.

@TonyHusbandBBC: Ronald Koeman's new agent has confirmed he'll meet #saintsfc executive Les Reed later this week for talks over a contract extension. Encouraging.

@PeterMcVitie: Viktor Fischer leaving Ajax for Middlesbrough for €5 million, says De Telegraaf https://t.co/uWXhc0cG6I He was very highly rated in the past.

http://sportwitness.ning.com/forum/topics/southampton-begin-negotiations-with-koeman-over-a-new-contract De Telegraaf (with good links to Koeman) saying he is in negotiations with Saints re a new contract and those talks will continue whilst he is on holiday.

I guess by privately it insinuates that Koeman's camp have spoken to Everton specifically to tell them that. Assuming the article is correct of course, which is a big assumption, especially for the Mirror.

http://bit.ly/22mvijs This says Koeman has "privately told Everton that he will see out the final year of his (Saints) contract."

It is far from certain, though, that Pellegrini will be chosen to oversee the project Moshiri has in mind for Everton and a number of other candidates will be met this week. They include the bookmakers’ favourite, Southampton’s Ronald Koeman, and Frank De Boer, who has just left his position at Ajax. Both men share the same agent, Guido Albers.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3603690/Manuel-Pellegrini-talks-Everton-job-Toffees-step-search-new-manager.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490 This report seems to indicate that Everton will "meet" with Koeman this week. Seems unlikely to be true to me seeing as he is under contract with another club.

Sounds like Erwin Koeman watched him the other day and we are keen but Fiorentina in pole position at the moment.

Thats why Koeman probably won't sign a new contract. If those players did all go that would bring in a lot of money to reinvest on signings and probably mean we could save a large chunk of the TV money. But it is somewhat annoying that despite being 6th in the "best league in the world" we are operating under conditions where the best players tend to want to leave. Would be nice for once to have a calm summer!

Agree, he has said he wants to keep the best players and add one or two of real quality. He specifically said he was happy with the squad depth.

Anything Koeman has said about signing a new contract has been laced with conditions, large relatively intangible ones around seeing "ambition". Certainly don't feel anything he has said has suggested a new contract was a done deal.

9.3/10

What exactly do people expect to be announced? He has said he will be here next season and from his various comments is happy with having a year left and likely keeping his options open. If we have a better, more aggressive summer in the transfer market then maybe he will sign an extension. He said he wants to "see" the ambition, so isn't going to sign a new deal based on a Powerpoint presentation and some Krugerisms.

Madness.

Fair point. But where does a thread like this stop? Better to create our own history rather than be entertained every time a player who played one season for us nearly 3 years ago (Lovren) loses a game that we would be buzzing to even be playing in. We march on (but we are actually still really bitter years later and have a thread that is always on page one of the site).

Presumably that they got all the way to the final whilst we didnt make the group stage. You never have a guarentee you are going to win anything of course but at the start of his first season at Liverpool if you had said to Clyne he would play in a League Cup Final (humiliating Saints on the way) and a Europa League final he would probably have taken that (plus his extra 50k a week). Its funny they lost the final, absolutely. Would be funnier if they had done what we did and lost to a ****e team before the group stage had even started.

What a player Mane is. Possibly our best attacker since MLT quality wise. The whole crowd lifts when he gets the ball which is usually a sign of expectation and he has troubled the best defenders as well as the dross. He can be a 20 goal a season PL player IMO which for someone who isn't a striker as such, is fantastic. If Everton want £65m for Lukaku then I would say Mane has to be close to the £45-50m bracket although his contract situation possibly lessens that. I think there is an ACON next season too but regardless, keeping him would be massive, he is going to the top.

He hasn't really given any strong indication otherwise.