If there is one man who Saints fans would like to see at St Mary's next season it is Toby Alderweireld and it could still be a possibility.

If you read the media you would believe that Chelsea have set their sights on signing Toby Alderweireld and that they are so desperate to do so that they are dangling Felipe Luis as a carrot in front of Athletico Madrid.

However it is serving that it is not Chelsea who are pursuing Alderweireld, but Athletico chasing Felipe Luis and offering Alderweireld as bait as they do not have the hard cash at present to buy Luis.

Whilst Chelsea have considered the offer it seems that they have other central defensive targets that they would prefer ahead of Alderweireld, including John Stones of Everton.

But even if Chelsea did show an interest it is not certain that Alderweireld would want to go to Stamford Bridge, this season at least he would find it difficult to dislodge John Terry and Gary Cahill and given that Alderweireld does not want to stay at Athletico and sit on the bench, it is doubtful he would want to find himself in the same position at Chelsea.

So if staying at Athletico and moving to Chelsea are out, Alderweireld's options and indeed Athletico's of moving him quickly are narrowing.

At present it seems that they are down to two, a return to Saints or perhaps Tottenham Hotspur.

This still leaves Saints in pole position though, firstly there is there question of transfer fee, Spurs with an expensive new stadium to fund and a sojourn in Milton Keynes also reducing their earning power do not have a big transfer budget and if they over for Alderweireld without selling first they would blow a big chunk of it and leave themselves unable to go in for other targets till they had sold.

This would not suit Athletico who themselves need cash to fund their own transfers this summer, so Saints could be finding that the Spanish club are suddenly ready to do business with them again.

Secondly there is the wishes of the player himself, whilst Athletico have been in the driving seat so far, ultimately it is Alderweireld himself who will decide whether he wants to go or not.

Alderweireld has spoken in the media of how he loved his time at St Mary's and that he would like to return, he is also believed to have spoken privately about his desire to come here and that will be a big advantage.

So in many respects the ball is firmly back in Saints court and they need to talk with Athletico and put hard cash on the table quickly to tempt the Spanish club into accepting that it would be better to ale a good offer now then let the situation drag on, that is also the case for Saints who need to sort out their central defensive options quickly with the opening Europa League games approaching fast.

Photo: Action Images

IWOZTHERE added 10:31 - Jun 20 Come on Nick, You've mentioned limited transfer funds again? Now I'm not expecting or suggesting that they should 'break the bank' but despite the commitments they surely must be comfortable after last year's deals? As I asked after your 'Squad building' article, there was 100m floating around somewhere for a while. What's eaten that up?
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SaintDownUnder added 11:04 - Jun 20 Pay Madrid and Toby whatever they want......it will be value
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Zambucco added 12:36 - Jun 20 Forget Toby we've got Jack Stevens, give hime a chance alongside Jose and he'll flourish like John Stones at Everton
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corkcitysaint added 15:31 - Jun 20 Are we in talks with Athletico ? Have we made an offer for Toby? it seems like we are hanging around to see if anyone else will buy him before we step in. I would have thought we would have approached AM and said "we want Toby. Here's xxx million". If we want him to stay and he wants to stay then why not make an approach? I know AM want to get as much as they can but if we are willing to pay the fee upfront, wouldn't that be a carrot for them? they can then go about their own re-building.

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TeamCortese added 17:56 - Jun 20 For me something is off. Alderweireld (along with Bertrand and Fonte) was amongst our top performers last season. For a player to go public and say he is happy at Southampton and would like to come back is enough of an incentive for the club to pay the bloody money. He's tried and tested. We know what we're going to get out of him so what's the hold-up? If we can do it with Bertrand in the January transfer window, why haven't we done it with Alderweireld? I think it must be wages.

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SaintMalta added 18:45 - Jun 20 TeamCortese - I don't think its Saints or Alderweireld who are holding things up. Everyone saw how good he was for us and I think Athletico are trying to use this as a leaver to get the biggest bidder! Obviously we can bid £1M or whatever is it, less than anyone else because of the clause we have in place! Which may I say was a VERY smart move by Saints board!!! Talking of the board, they seem to be getting better and better so in them I trust!

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Chesham_Saint added 09:12 - Jun 21 As far as I'm concerned he's one of the best backs to have played for Saints and I would really love to see him here full time.
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TheWestStand added 21:44 - Jun 22 I met Toby's uncle in Antwerp during his wedding on Friday. I sent Toby a personal message on a beer mat pleading that he stays with us. Pretty sure it will do the trick!
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