This time last year £16m was still our record transfer fee, I'll be amazed if Wenger is paying that for a backup RB
Schneiderlin will be a major loss. He is probably the most under-rated French player in the PL and it is well reported that he wants to leave Saints for Arsenal. I'd be gutted if he joined you (this is looking likely) yet the purchase of Chambers is well over the odds. Staggered that he was allowed to leave but if you are offered 4 x the value of an over-rated RB with one season's experience you would be stupid not to take the money. Good job Wenger selected the wrong RB!
Reports are claiming that it's anything from £7m to £16m. They might all be right and it might start at the lower fee and rise to the higher one on appearances, etc. Chuck in a sell-on fee and it might be accurate.
Arsenal fans can't be pleased about Chambers. (Especially when we pocket the sell on fee when you sell him to Man city!! )
Ben Smith ‏@BenSmithBBC 1m I'm told Arsenal want Morgan Schneiderlin AND Callum Chambers from Southampton. Spurs have also made an enquiry for Jay Rodriguez
Can't see Saints staying up this season. Too many new players and inexperienced reserves as about 3/4of the first time will have been sold by August. I'm gutted. We have got to be relegation favourites even with Ron Koeman in charge.
I don't think there's many neutrals can have enjoyed seeing what's happening to Southampton, but unfortunately it's been inevitable for a while now
The annoying thing is that the better reserves have been touted by the big clubs even before they've kicked a ball for Saints. The left back Matt Targett is considered to be better than Shaw hence the reason they let his leave for Man Utd. There is also a midfield player called Harrison Reed who is being watched by Man Utd as he is seen to be the new Paul Scholes. Reed has hardly featured even as a substitute. The club seems to be in meltdown and the intentions of the executive to retain the squad and resist bids has proved to be fatuous as the whole team wanted away as soon as the knew Poch was off to Spurs. With the likes of Lallana, it appeared that his future was mapped in the spring before the season had ended. Annoyingly, we have the best academy in the country but it now produces talent for the top teams in the country, It will ensure that we are continually solvent yet I don't think that Saints have any ambition beyond remaining in the PL which is now a very tall order.
As Murray says it depends on how Sanchez is deployed but yes, despite how well the window has gone so far there are still concerns. The CB situation is a worry for one. Plenty of time for things to change though
Well, that's the end of taking the piss out of Utd and Liverpool for overspending on Southampton players...
I realise it's well after midnight in the UK but whatever happened to Coquelin. I haven't followed him in recent years but at one point he was considered a promising DM. Is he even close to the talent we need at that position?
Ian, you don't seem quite as gutted as you make out, in fact I'd say this raft of depressing news has made you positively priapic right now. Arsenal fans - Chambers has the potential to be an excellent player (despite what Ian says), and although you're buying potential, if the figure is £7m rising, you've got yourselves a very good deal. He is mainly potential, but then he's also more than capable of stepping straight into the team and doing a good job for you if required (should Debuchy get injured etc). His ceiling is such that he could become the next England RB, you could switch him to CB or potentially he has the ability to push into a DM/RM role. Potential, flexibility and already a good player. Decent deal for you. Schneiderlin will be a fantastic buy if you get him, but let's deal with this one first.
You may or may not have picked up that Ian talks quite a lot of bollocks, but uses up lots of words in doing so. Ignore the thing about needing to raise money to pay off the academy building costs too. That's also balls.
Sadly, I have to agree that his posts are very long, well constructed, and I scarcely ever agree with a single word of them. They have included, a couple of seaons back, the classic "Saints won't get promoted (they did) and Pompey will avoid relegation (they didn't)" in one sentence. We have a massive war chest and it is a little too early to feel entirely sorry for us. We have lost good players but we have extracted top dollar. The next few weeks will give us a clue what the future may hold, but I can't believe that our new manager would have taken the job without knowing that he would be able to buy the players he needed as replacements.
So Chambers is the 4th choice CB because I'm sure if Verm stays he's 3rd choice but if he leaves we get Nastasic. Schneiderlan to be our DM.
