Saints bid for Victor Wanyama may not yet be dead in the water as Saints supporters wonder what sort of player they are signing.

Victo Wanyama is without doubt a talent, but could Saints persuing the player long after it was clear that money would be his object not ambition, actually be damaging to team morale in the long run.

Last season saw Saints punch above their weight on several occasions and get through some tough games based on playing a certain formation along with team spirit, however could Wanyama's links with the club affect several players in the key area of the team, ie the centre of midfield.

Morgan Schneiderlin will obviously feel that his position is safe and that he would start alongside Wanyame after his superb season in 12/13, however for Jack Cork it must be a time when he is thinking whether he has a future at the club in that it is his place that seems under threat should Wanyama arrive, for his part Cork had a great season and but for the form of Schneiderlin would surely have got player of the year himself, indeed it was his return to the side after Olympic duty etc that saw the start of our resurgence and his tireless work in the centre of the park contributed to Morgan's fine form a lot more than many gave credit for.

But now Jack Cork must feel a little bewildered about why Saints are chasing so hard a player who does not seem that eager to join Saints, likewise Steven Davis who would find himself further down the order and James Ward-Prowse who given his statements about wanting to get more game time this year, would find his chances even more restricted if Wanyama should arrive, both Davis & Ward-Prowse would feel that at these stages of their respective careers that they should be playing first team football in the case of Davis and pushing into the team in the case of JWP, if Wanyama should arrive I would contend that they may both find themselves frustrated.

In the case of JWP perhaps he could be sent on loan, but would he want that ? over the past few years much has been said about youth coming forward, I feel this signing might actually be a backward step in that respect, it will block youngsters coming through, not encourage it.

Personally with this signing, I feel that it could cause more harm than good, Wanyama has already burnt his bridges with Celtic it seems by some of his comments regarding his demands, for their part Celtic have done nothing other than pay the player the contract he was happy to sign two years ago, if Saints were to sign him, would it be any different in two years ? would he be holding us to ransom as he has the Glasgow club.

But more than that, we are once again seemingly spending big chunks of money in strengthening areas that are not a priority, if one area was sound last season it was the centre of midfield, there are far more other positions we should be making a priority to spend £12 million on than here.      

Photo: Action Images

SaintDavo added 10:21 - Jul 5 totally agree with you (for once) :)
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Boris1977 added 10:33 - Jul 5 Over the last few years, and certainly post admin, I felt closer to the club than I have for a long while. Now back in the premiershit there is a certain reductionism which is common with all football businesses which sidelines the supporters and all decisions are made on a lowest common denominator principle. Teams don't succeed just by signing the best players, it takes time to knit squads together before we see the fruition. Cortese and the Committee don't seen to understand this idea and are determind to pursue their agenda. Looking forward to more ill fitting signings and feeling even less close to the club of my birth.

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REEDYREEDOREEDZ added 10:35 - Jul 5 Yeah well said. If Wanyama really wanted to play for us then it wouldn't be so bad. But the fact that he's ok with the deal falling apart because of his greedy agent really gives you the feeling that he's not bothered about Saints and is just waiting for a 'big' club to come in for him. It gives you the impression that he's only motivated by money and that really isn't the case with the vast majority of the squad we have. If we signed him now I can definitely see some noses being put out of joint. Maybe they should focus on other signings, for instance we still need some cover at right back with Richardson and Butterfield gone, Clyne is our only RB. We haven't been linked with any so far??

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slynch added 11:08 - Jul 5 MP et al can obviously see a lacking in defensive midfield. Weakness here puts a lot of pressure on the backs, requiring creativity to come from the wings only and the forwards to prop up midfield. Saints lack a powerhouse in central midfield that can link the back to the front and chip in with a handful of goals per season. Wanayama seems ideal.
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LennyJam added 11:17 - Jul 5 did you ever think that MP may want to play with 3 midfielders in the middle?
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SaintNick added 11:23 - Jul 5 Yes because he did that last year, but three defensive midfielders !!!!! our one weakness in that area was the lack of goals from central midfield even with creative players like Ramirez in there.
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ExiledSupporter added 11:26 - Jul 5 Couldn't agree with you more Boris1977 (and Nick too) Erratic transfer target selection, expensive gambling on questionable talents, lack of prioritisation and a growing tendency to underrate players who have at the very least proven their squad value are worrying behaviours. I anticipate a number of weeks more of ultimate non-achievement in signing up players followed by a late in the window burst of activity that may bring in unpredictable resources. Does that sound like last summer...it suggests to me that we haven't learnt much from past experience. Boris, like you I feel increasingly alienated from the management of the club (and I don't include MP in that category)

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ItchenNorth added 11:40 - Jul 5 Who’s causing the drama; the player (well seemingly his now ex-agent was this main problem), the media (cause it’s a good yarn and everyone love's a rumour), or the endless posts on message boards (opinion mainly based on what the media reports !)! Don’t get me wrong, we want players to play for the shirt and not the money but give me a break; if we sign him we judge him on performance alone. We shouldn't be placing baggage on the guy before he potentially even gets here ! And if Cork, Davis or JWP get these noise put out by added competition for a place; they are in the wrong business ! For me choosing a midfield 2 from 3 from Schneiderlin, Cork and Wanyama would surely be a great problem to have ! I agree we need to strengthen in other areas more over than the midfield but let’s just see what happens and judge any player on performance on the pitch.

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Jesus_02 added 12:05 - Jul 5 Ok I think that Wanyama would be a great signing that would improve our squad. We would have one on the best midfields in the Prem. Realistically you need about 2 players for every position. If we are playing 2/3 in centre mid we have 5 players to choose from Wanyama – 22 Schneiderlin – 23 Cork – 24 Steven Davis – 28 James Ward-Prowse – 18 Davis finished well (arguably), but overall he wasn’t the combative box to box midfielder I was hoping for. We will see next season, but, I can imagine Morgan playing further up the field. I know his tackling was awesome, but he has a great range of passes, and got 5 goals last season.

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SaintNick added 12:11 - Jul 5 a great central midfield, but we haven't got a single genuine wide player of premiership quality
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BaselSaint added 12:12 - Jul 5 Surely it is width we need from pacy talented wingers and a couple more defenders?
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Jesus_02 added 12:24 - Jul 5 @ItchenNorth: RE - "who's causing the Drama" to back up your point I was intrested to find this article that suggests the Victors Agent (Rob Moore) was on a list of 22 agents that club where warned not to deal with by the FA http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/John-Terry-s-agent-on-FA-blacklist-of-22-na
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Jesus_02 added 12:45 - Jul 5 I agree we could probably do with another wide player. But we are probably hoping that Gaston, Lallana, and Pucnch will do for the time being, also if we do get another forward then I can see J-Rod used on the wing. Personally I didn’t think that we struggled to get crosses in or even get behind defenders. The crosses seemed to come in an be routinely dealt with by well drilled defences. In fact towards the end of the season I thought we became quite predicable. What we seemed to struggle with was being able play through the middle. I am sure that someone will have a graphic that shows where we scored goals from but I cant remeber too many strikes from distance finding the net. BTW More on Moore - If Victor does come, I hope his agent doesn’t! http://www.neal-collins.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/curious-tale-of-steven-pienaars-y

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LennyJam added 13:19 - Jul 5 rodrigues and puncheon are prem quality for a start
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montecristo added 13:27 - Jul 5 why or why do Saints string these deals out you just get the feeling that nothing is really happening and that the club will once again at it does every year miss out on its main targets through intransigence, sorry buts it extremely frustrating. And since when does the club broadcast who their main targets are through the manager or otherwise, something wrong here. Is Poch putting pressure on Cortese to get on with it? my guess is that he is...

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LennyJam added 13:30 - Jul 5 what the hell are you on about. we are no different to other clubs for gods sake
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slynch added 14:09 - Jul 5 http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/scotland/23198166?
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Jesus_02 added 14:43 - Jul 5 @ExiledSupporter : with respect (and I share everyones frustration by lack of early signings) but perhaps its a bit strong to say "...it suggests to me that we haven't learnt much from past experience" when we successful maintained Premiership Status after back to back promotions... Im not saying that I would let him marry my daughter (Which of course I would (if i had one) because Im sure that the familiy holidays would improve) but my general assesment is ...oooh 6/10?

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Jesus_02 added 14:44 - Jul 5 *successfully
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ExiledSupporter added 18:55 - Jul 6 Jesus02, All of my points were directed at our transfer policy/practice recently, which I contended seemed to show that we had learnt little from past experience ie. that our signings continued to be as erratic (some good, some bad, some indifferent which amounts to bad and ,mostly expensive ie. costing more than they were worth in terms of performance). We have certainly learnt in other areas, but not in operating a sufficiently successful transfer policy.

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Kiwifiedpom1 added 23:21 - Jul 7 As with Ramierez I have to question Wamyama's commitment. Southampton are a club with ambitions and require playing staff who are equally ambitious, which means commitment. MP's seems to be equally tarred with the same tar brush of overriding confidence of being able to change these players, if they are mercenary minded. I've said it before and I'll say it again. "A Leopard does not change it's spots"

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