Fonte Transfer Rumours

That's looking at things how you want to. Fonte has proved very loyal over the years and that might not be the case. The sheer amount of players who have left over last few years I think suggests that the club aren't whiter than white.

That's looking at things how you want to - what on earth does that mean apart from the rather obvious thing of me having my own opinion?

I view the club in a similar manner as I do the players.

Basically you have two types of people. Those who work in the industry and whose livelihood depends on it, and the audience. At the end of the day, I pay for my ticket and go to be entertained. That bit of time on Saturday afternoon (or whenever it is) is a distraction in my life, and that is all. It doesn't affect anything else (apart from planning holidays). If I didn't go to the football, I am sure that a) life would be easier with not having to juggle things around so that I can go to games b) I would find something to do to fill the gap.

Bombshell? This has been on the cards since the Summer, the move was expected to happen in the Summer, how can this be a bombshell. Clear that Puel expects him to be on his way in January. Why would we extend his contract when he will be in his 35th year when it expires. I suspect we have a replacement lined up, but in any case we have 4 decent CBs in the squad (when Gardos is fit, Stephens being the 4th) and Yoshi has proved a more than able replacement when Jose hasn't played. If we can get a few mill for someone of his age then go for it (I'd like to think a bit more than 5 mill if its United or Everton asking though). Clear since the summer that all is not well with Fonte, wish him well, and thanks for all the fish.

Pretty frustrating how virtually every major story around Saints becomes a negative one.

With the team not doing great in the league, losing the captain is never a great thing. Especially as depth wise CB is our weakest position. We are always told you never find good replacements in January and it isnt a good time to shop so you have to wonder if the idea is for Yoshida to start more. He has done well in Europe and Cups this season but has proven over 4 years that he makes too many mistakes at PL level to be a first choice.

Surely this is one player who the club should reach out to. He's been outstanding for club and plus very difficult to replace. If we undertake our defence with our current forward line there's a fine line between mid table and relegation battle.

But they have. They offered him a pay rise, which he has apparently refused. Perhaps he wanted them to offer him an extension to his contract but given that he will soon be 33 do you really want the club to give big money to a player who may not feature in the first team so much in the next few years? If the club are prepared to let him go in January, don't you think that they have a contingency plan? You always seem to want to put the club down. Have they really done so badly over the last 7 years? He has been great for us but we have also been great for him. I really don't think Jose has been hard done by.

But they have. They offered him a pay rise, which he has apparently refused. Perhaps he wanted them to offer him an extension to his contract but given that he will soon be 33 do you really want the club to give big money to a player who may not feature in the first team so much in the next few years? If the club are prepared to let him go in January, don't you think that they have a contingency plan? You always seem to want to put the club down. Have they really done so badly over the last 7 years? He has been great for us but we have also been great for him. I really don't think Jose has been hard done by.

I think that Yoshida may be the contingency plan. He's done well in cup games this season.

His current deal takes him to just short of 35th Birthday. Why would the club offer him a longer deal? So he can earn £80k pw! watching from the stands as we have already replaced him and he isn't looking at leaving due to the high wage??

His current deal takes him to just short of 35th Birthday. Why would the club offer him a longer deal? So he can earn £80k pw! watching from the stands as we have already replaced him and he isn't looking at leaving due to the high wage??

This is the view the club have put out in the form of Jeremy Wilson this afternoon. It does make sense somewhat.

This is the view the club have put out in the form of Jeremy Wilson this afternoon. It does make sense somewhat.

Exactly, don't see what all the fuss is about. We aren't mufc, £80k players would need to be our main forward not a 34/35yr old watching from the side

Exactly, don't see what all the fuss is about. We aren't mufc, £80k players would need to be our main forward not a 34/35yr old watching from the side

Which shows how generous our offer was in the summer.

Fonte wanted to leave in August irrespect of any new deal with all the stuff appearing in the newspapers via his agent about Man United.

Let him leave if his new agent has done his head.

We were right and fair to offer him a considerable pay rise.

We were right and fair to not want to offer an extension - it makes no business sense whatsoever at his age - we don't have the financial means to do that

He is within his right to reject the deal

We're within our right to accept that decision and to expect him to continue to do his best in his current deal

His form has suffered this season. Is it age or is it distraction? No-one knows. If we're willing to let him go in January then that means we must have a replacement lined up. I personally wouldn't be comfortable having Yoshida step up and then the third choice be Gardos or Stephens or even Bertrand. It's weak. I'd be fine with keeping Fonte until the end of the season and letting him go for a few million less.

Am I being thick/naïve? Why would you turn down a pay rise unless there was some kind of condition/contract attached to it which you don't like? He says in Echo article that there was no contract to sign just a pay rise which he was entitled to turn down...

Am I being thick/naïve? Why would you turn down a pay rise unless there was some kind of condition/contract attached to it which you don't like? He says in Echo article that there was no contract to sign just a pay rise which he was entitled to turn down...

Pay rise might have had certain conditions like removing the release clause or modifying the T&Cs attached to the RC

Jose not kicking a single ball in the Europa is by far the single most baffling thing about this campaign.

We were right and fair to offer him a considerable pay rise.

We were right and fair to not want to offer an extension - it makes no business sense whatsoever at his age - we don't have the financial means to do that

He is within his right to reject the deal

We're within our right to accept that decision and to expect him to continue to do his best in his current deal

 

His form has suffered this season. Is it age or is it distraction? No-one knows. If we're willing to let him go in January then that means we must have a replacement lined up. I personally wouldn't be comfortable having Yoshida step up and then the third choice be Gardos or Stephens or even Bertrand. It's weak. I'd be fine with keeping Fonte until the end of the season and letting him go for a few million less.

For me Fonte has been less of a player this year.

Not sure of reasons but he is fortunate to be playing as often as he is.

That means we should be looking to replace him.

A year ago definitely not, however now..... It is not as cut and dried....

Fonte has kept a dignified silence when clearly things have clearly not been rosy. What he has said as always has been straightforward, fair and to the point.

He has never been disrespectful to the club or the fan's unlike certain former hero's. He has been a fantastic captain and servant to this club and deserves as much respect as Rickie Lambert imo. I am disappointed but not surprised by some fan's comments.

Hopefully I am not made to eat my words, but stay or go that is how I see it.

Fonte has kept a dignified silence when clearly things have clearly not been rosy. What he has said as always has been straightforward, fair and to the point.

 

He has never been disrespectful to the club or the fan's unlike certain former hero's. He has been a fantastic captain and servant to this club and deserves as much respect as Rickie Lambert imo. I am disappointed but not surprised by some fan's comments.

 

Hopefully I am not made to eat my words, but stay or go that is how I see it.

This.

Fonte has kept a dignified silence when clearly things have clearly not been rosy. What he has said as always has been straightforward, fair and to the point.

 

He has never been disrespectful to the club or the fan's unlike certain former hero's. He has been a fantastic captain and servant to this club and deserves as much respect as Rickie Lambert imo. I am disappointed but not surprised by some fan's comments.

 

Hopefully I am not made to eat my words, but stay or go that is how I see it.

Excellent post, and that's how I see it too.

Fonte has kept a dignified silence when clearly things have clearly not been rosy. What he has said as always has been straightforward, fair and to the point.

 

He has never been disrespectful to the club or the fan's unlike certain former hero's. He has been a fantastic captain and servant to this club and deserves as much respect as Rickie Lambert imo. I am disappointed but not surprised by some fan's comments.

 

Hopefully I am not made to eat my words, but stay or go that is how I see it.

Well put

Not cup tied I assume, makes him more desirable for clubs in Europe so we can get more dosh I assume

How often do we, or any team for that matter, throw on a substitute centre half, not including injuries?

Fonte plays League games, Yoshi plays Cup. We're rotating the squad, same as every other position. I don't know why people are expecting our oldest outfield player not to be rotated.

I'd like us to try and sign Nathan Ake, he looks a very talented player, then keep Fonte until his contract runs out and use Ake as a box to box midfielder until we want him as a centre back.

Not cup tied I assume, makes him more desirable for clubs in Europe so we can get more dosh I assume

I've been saying for months he's off in January and him missing europa league wasn't just down to rotation but keep getting shot down !

Fonte has responded to a post on Instagram which said "Southampton have agreed to sell captain Jose Fonte in January after he rejected after he rejected a contract offer." - His reply was "not true at all!"

Fonte has responded to a post on Instagram which said "Southampton have agreed to sell captain Jose Fonte in January after he rejected after he rejected a contract offer." - His reply was "not true at all!"

Very likely we haven't "Agreed to sell". But you don't turn down a big pay rise without a good reason.

Very likely we haven't "Agreed to sell". But you don't turn down a big pay rise without a good reason.

Perhaps he wasn't offered a big pay rise or a new contract and the club just wants to sell him, and have kept him out of European games to increase his transfer value to Man United.

Fonte has kept a dignified silence when clearly things have clearly not been rosy. What he has said as always has been straightforward, fair and to the point.

 

He has never been disrespectful to the club or the fan's unlike certain former hero's. He has been a fantastic captain and servant to this club and deserves as much respect as Rickie Lambert imo. I am disappointed but not surprised by some fan's comments.

 

Hopefully I am not made to eat my words, but stay or go that is how I see it.

His agent has been stirring it right up in the media and so guilty by association im afraid.

Very likely we haven't "Agreed to sell". But you don't turn down a big pay rise without a good reason.

The page who posted it have now claimed on twitter that they have spoken to fonte on instagram - apparently fonte said he would 'be a mad man' to turn down 80k pw so maybe that's the part that isnt true

We cannot afford to let Jose Fonte go - end of story! Sounds very similar to John Terry saga.

Too many big effing ego's upstairs at our club, small minded men who have struck it rich and lucky. A cautionary word Gentlemen, the fickle wheel of fate keeps turning and one day it will point at you.

The page who posted it have now claimed on twitter that they have spoken to fonte on instagram - apparently fonte said he would 'be a mad man' to turn down 80k pw so maybe that's the part that isnt true

The way the club's PR spin works on players sales, they could just as easily have offered him a derisory 10 quid a week pay rise just so they could say to the fans he turned down a pay increase, when the truth is they'd already decided to sell him.

Reading between the lines it sounds like he is being inched towards the exit whether he likes it or not.

For me he should be on the banner along with Kelvin and Rickie.

Perhaps he wasn't offered a big pay rise or a new contract and the club just wants to sell him, and have kept him out of European games to increase his transfer value to Man United.

“There was in the summer, they offered me a pay rise. They didn’t offer me a new contract.

“They offered me a pay rise which I’m entitled to discuss with my agent and entitled to say no to as well."

Source: http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/14946747.Frustrated_Fonte_denies_Saints_contract_talk/?ref=rss

The way the club's PR spin works on players sales, they could just as easily have offered him a derisory 10 quid a week pay rise just so they could say to the fans he turned down a pay increase, when the truth is they'd already decided to sell him.

Yeah, but that didn't happen, did it?

Fonte has responded to a post on Instagram which said "Southampton have agreed to sell captain Jose Fonte in January after he rejected after he rejected a contract offer." - His reply was "not true at all!"

Doubt this happened either. If he did leave a comment he's deleted it - no record on Instagram, where you can see what people you followed have liked/commented on. Given the screenshot cuts out the account name (meaning people can't check), I expect it's a hoax.

The way I see it, for what its worth, is that Jose was offered a decent pay rise but not an extended contract due to his age

Much as I like Jose as a player and as for what he has achieved with the club, I would agree with the clubs stance if my assumption is correct

Am I being thick/naïve? Why would you turn down a pay rise unless there was some kind of condition/contract attached to it which you don't like? He says in Echo article that there was no contract to sign just a pay rise which he was entitled to turn down...

Because it gives you an incredibly bad reputation if after signing for an increased wage that you then start demanding out. He clearly came back after the summer looking for a move, probably got told United would have him at the end of the transfer window and kept quiet until then. In the meantime we do our usual thing of setting a deadline for players leaving and that came and went. We probably offered him the improved wage at some point so we could announce our super captain who has just won the European Championship has committed to us and got the improved deal he deserved. He turned that down and soon realised that either United weren't coming in for him as quickly as we wanted or that we weren't going to buckle and sell him and leave ourselves short. Eventually he realises this and does his post on instagram so his reputation is still intact.

We're in the same situation now, United need a defender, he fancies it as does his agent but knows signing for an improved wage with us gives him an awful reputation if he still tries to force a move, we don't want to give a defender who is already signed up until he's 35 an extension and United want him on the cheap/or someone else. It's a stand off and him and his agent have the most to lose so fuel stuff to the press to try and make something happen whilst trying to keep his reputation intact. We sit around knowing he either goes on our terms and we get someone to replace him now or wait until the summer (and he stays and has to play well), and United do whatever they want to do, but I imagine paying a big fee for a 33 year old defender and sticking him on a 3 year contract is probably not that appealing so they will either get someone else (younger) or wait until we buckle at the end of the window and get him cheaply so they can put him on a good wage for 3 years.

I've been saying for months he's off in January and him missing europa league wasn't just down to rotation but keep getting shot down !

So you're theory is that Man Utd, a club who seemingly aren't that bothered about the Europa at all, who spent a world record fee on Pogba and world record wages on Zlatan, now want to sign the 33 year old, 3rd best centre half at a midtable club.

However; this deal is dependent on Fonte being available for said European games they don't give a sh*t about, indicating they aren't that bothered about playing him in the league. We're also agreeing to deliberately weaken our team (Using your logic that he should be playing every game, I don't agree with this personally) in Europe, simply to make Man Utd happy because we like bending over and being shafted by bigger clubs.

What part of all that makes sense?

Yoshida has had a few good games this season and has really benefited from the rotation policy, however he is not as good as Fonte. No chance.

My take:

Fonte has kept quiet so far. Any social media posts were hoaxes.

For reports to suggest he's bemused at the lack of Europa League matches is laughable. In my opinion he wanted to go to United and didn't want to be cup tied. Puel would play Fonte with van Dijk as that's our best centre back pairing, even on a rotational basis.

Fonte doesn't want to play for Saints.

Fonte wants to go another club for a final pay day (probably Everton).

So you're theory is that Man Utd, a club who seemingly aren't that bothered about the Europa at all, who spent a world record fee on Pogba and world record wages on Zlatan, now want to sign the 33 year old, 3rd best centre half at a midtable club.

 

However; this deal is dependent on Fonte being available for said European games they don't give a sh*t about, indicating they aren't that bothered about playing him in the league. We're also agreeing to deliberately weaken our team (Using your logic that he should be playing every game, I don't agree with this personally) in Europe, simply to make Man Utd happy because we like bending over and being shafted by bigger clubs.

 

What part of all that makes sense?

This is football we're talking about here , who would have thought Liverpool would take Lambert ? Imo Jose well and truly earnt a chance to lead us out in Europe and wanted to do so rotation should not be getting in the way of that !

So you're theory is that Man Utd, a club who seemingly aren't that bothered about the Europa at all, who spent a world record fee on Pogba and world record wages on Zlatan, now want to sign the 33 year old, 3rd best centre half at a midtable club.

However; this deal is dependent on Fonte being available for said European games they don't give a sh*t about, indicating they aren't that bothered about playing him in the league. We're also agreeing to deliberately weaken our team (Using your logic that he should be playing every game, I don't agree with this personally) in Europe, simply to make Man Utd happy because we like bending over and being shafted by bigger clubs.

 

What part of all that makes sense?

this cant be Fonte, he is our skipper and clearly 2nd best CB

Here's a screenshot of the conversation fonte had on Instagram today.

this cant be Fonte, he is our skipper and clearly 2nd best CB

This season I would disagree.

This season I would disagree.

Not really about your opinion. He plays with our first choice back four in Premier League games when we play our strongest eleven. Objectively he is one of the two best CBs at the club.

Not really about your opinion. He plays with our first choice back four in Premier League games when we play our strongest eleven. Objectively he is one of the two best CBs at the club.

Putting my opinion aside, he is a very distant second behind Virgil. He's aging, hasn't played especially well this season (not least at Old Trafford) and not a signing Mourinho and Man Utd will be aspiring too.

Putting my opinion aside, he is a very distant second behind Virgil. He's aging, hasn't played especially well this season (not least at Old Trafford) and not a signing Mourinho and Man Utd will be aspiring too.

The point is, he's not 3rd best. Objectively, factually, whatever measure you want, he isn't.

Personally I think it's ridiculous not to offer him a new contract and I couldn't give a monkeys if people think otherwise.

Just posted on Instagram that he has just been told he won't be offered a new contract

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Here's a screenshot of the conversation fonte had on Instagram today.

You don't actually believe that's real, do you?

I wonder whether Fonte's being moved out early so we can offer Van Dijk the captaincy (and possibly another pay rise) before the vultures circle in summer?

So come the summer we'll be needing to replace probably both our first choice CB's. Superb.

Just posted on Instagram that he has just been told he won't be offered a new contract

Where? The DMs are fake.

The point is, he's not 3rd best. Objectively, factually, whatever measure you want, he isn't.

It's not really the point.

The point is that he's not good enough and too old for Man Utd.