Sorry if I have missed something , but just seen his interview on SP , when is his contract up for renewal ?
His contract expires at the end of this season, so ASAP in answer to your question.
Adkins has already hinted that such decisions are often left to the end of the season. By then, we will know which league we are in, which will have a massive effect on his contract or if he will choose to move on.
It may be Puncheon who is hedging his bets.
I've never thought it made sense to sign a player just so you can sell them, rather than letting them walk. Unless Puncheon really wants to do Saints a huge favor, it makes no sense for him to sign that contract as he will have more choices and almost certainly make more money as an FA signing.
So to get Puncheon (or whoever) to sign that contract, you have to lie to them and tell them they are in your plans. Then, once they've signed the contract, you're on the hook for the money due on the life of the contract. Now instead of selling them to make money, you're kind of selling them to get the wages off the books. The player will be mad and want to leave, you are wasting time selling an asset to recoup your contract wages, and other teams will know this and offer you reduced prices.