According to the Daily Echo Saints new manager Claude Puel is targeting two more signings in this transfer window to complete his squad.

Te Daily Echo are very close to the club these days, so when they say something, althought it is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate, it is a lot nearer the mark than most of the reports in the media.

Today they are saying that Claude Puel is looking at making two more signings to complete his squad, that being a back up keeper for Fraser Forster perhaps allowing Paulo Gazzaniga to go out on loan and also a right sided player to give options in both deputising for Cedric Soares as well as playing in other positions.

Now I like most Saints fans would feel that we still need a player or two more, certainly I think a central defender is needed as well as perhaps another attacking option.

That does not mean that Puel is not of a similar mind, the likelihood is that the club is putting out that they have done most of their business this transfer window bar a couple of back up players, it is trying to do several things.

The first is that it is trying to avoid getting into auctions for players and being used as leaverage by an agent to up the money for his client.

The second is that the club are trying to fly uder the radar, this summer s diificult in that both Spurs with forer head of recruitment Paul Mitchell in their ranks and of course Ronald Koeman at Everton will be to varying degrees familiar with the players that the club have been monitoring, they do not want to alert them to any moves about to be made, nor indeed other clubs.

Thirdly with all of last season's coaching staff gone and the Euro 2016 players only just back, Puel has not yet had a chance to truly assess his squad and has no one at the level he needs within the club to give him a thorough run down and opinion, perhaps from this viewpoint it would have been pertinent to have kept on Sammy Lee for another season.

When the friendlies in Holland have been completed Puel will have a lot more of an idea of where he himself sees the squad.

So Saints fans should not panic just yet, I think there is a player or two up the club' s sleeves.

Photo: Action Images

BaselSaint added 11:48 - Jul 22 I'm not panicking Nick but apart from Long where are all the goals going to come from - Tadic?
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bstokesaint added 12:17 - Jul 22 I was left feeling very upbeat by the Shane Long news yesterday. I heard he had been offered a contract a little while back so I was worried he might be another man out the door. I was very pleased that like Forster, Virgil, Bertrand and Davis has bought into the new longer-term vision. I am still very worried about goals though. Although I agree we need cover in goal and on the right defensively, I still think we're crying out for a goal-scoring midfielder and striker. There must be other Payets and Mahrez's out there! I just hope you're right Nick when you say it's because we don't want to pay over-inflated prices.

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BoondockSaint added 13:10 - Jul 22 It better not be his only two signings! Like BaselSaint says, where are the goals coming from? Why is it the same cr@p every window: Other teams signing players every week, taking Saints players if they like, but never the Saints "unsettling" a player, or testing the another team's board's "ambition"?
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law101 added 14:11 - Jul 22 I can't possibly believe as you say, that this is the truth. We don 't have anyone capable of scoring more than 5+ goals in our midfield, the squad is crying out for a creative central midfielder. I also can't believe we would start the season with Shane Long (big fan) who has proven he will only score max 12/13 goals a season and to very injury prone players in Austin and J Rod.

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SanMarco added 15:28 - Jul 22 If we don't sign someone with some goals in them I will move to 'moderate panic' status. We would be one long-term Shane Long injury away from big trouble. Of course Austin and Jayrod may come good but the word is 'may'...
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montecristo added 20:18 - Jul 22 I cant believe that Saints think that Redmond can replace Mané, just not in the same league and doesnt have the potential to get there either Id much sooner have had Townsend. I worry for Saints this season they seem some what lighteight now, Fonte is not getting any younger where is the backup to him. Unless there are gems in the academy we have yet to see i m concerned. I dont like Saints buying policy its risky as hell ,greedy also, and one season they will come unstuck and get relegated.

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BUCK added 20:55 - Jul 22 I hope all of you eat your words when austin scores 15 or 20 goals this season. We have plenty of fire power. We just need depth now. Stop worrying people. Our attacking will and is strong. We also have sam Gallagher who I feel is ready to take his chance now.
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Big_T added 21:13 - Jul 22 I'm not a fan of Charlie Austin, but he is hardly injury "prone" He's averaged 25 games a season for 10 seasons 2015 major injury rushed back 2009 big injury the rest are just knocks and bumps.
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bstokesaint added 22:15 - Jul 22 Monte, are you serious? Greedy? The money isn't being stashed into Swiss bank accounts (no satire intended), but being invested in the future of the club which we came close to losing not so long ago. I accept there is a calculated risk, although I think it's a little early to be having a meltdown. I think you're also a bit too keen to compare Redmond to Mane, or were you one of the 1% who were singing Mane's praises when he was having a mare and Saints' fans were questioning what we'd done? Maybe you were, in which you'd be even more likely to give Redmond a chance before he's even kicked a ball. Like I say we're 2-3 players from being as good, if not stronger.

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bstokesaint added 22:27 - Jul 22 Also on the subject of "risky as hell", what's riskier? Having a changing room disrupted by three prima donnas who don't give their all as they believe they're bigger than the team and could earn more elsewhere, or a together changing room shared by a solid group of top senior pros and a number of hungry young signings who haven't had a shot elsewhere and are desperate to prove themselves? As Shane Long said there are a great bunch of lads at Southanpton and there's a real family feel to the club. It's that kind of togetherness that can win trophies.

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saintmark1976 added 22:55 - Jul 22 bstokesaint. Togetherness helps but alone it has never won anything. Goals win games and in my opinion placing faith in two players who between them did not start and finish a single game for us last season is extremely risky to say the least. I can only hope that there is some behind the scenes work going on and a proven goal scorer appears soon. If not then I have a feeling that next season could be a struggle just to finish mid table.Hope I am wrong.

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bstokesaint added 23:26 - Jul 22 Mark, togetherness won Leicester the league. I take your point about the goals though, and if you see my earlier comment I agree we need to add a couple of goalscorers. I just don't think what we've done is risky provided we buy in the next fortnight and don't wait until Christmas to see what is a glaring imbalance.
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highfield49 added 09:50 - Jul 23 Why the apparent panic from so many supporters? It was clear that Puel was brought in as a manager who would look seriously at the young talent already at the club. With Turnbull, Stephens, Mugabi, McCarthy (on loan at Walsall?) and Cook all potential central defenders what is the point in having them at the club if they are not able to move up soonish? And surely Gallagher, Isgrove etc are going to be able to show in pre- season if they are worth their wages. Plenty of time to buy before the end of August if necessary. So priorities probably are another goal keeper and right back as stated by Nick.

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halftimeorange added 11:12 - Jul 23 The bookies predict Saints will finish ninth. Personally, I think that's optimistic with the squad we've got. I'm truly surprised we haven't gone for a goalscorer or a play maker. I understand that we need GK cover of a decent quality but another RB - with Cedric, Martina and Mugabi already on the books! We'll have a fair idea of whether our management team have misjudged things very early on. As it stands we look lightweight compared to many other PL sides. Disappointing.

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the_saint added 16:02 - Jul 23 You need at least 4 strikers in the squad we have like long, j rod, Austin and Gallagher. J rod and Austin not sure how many games we will get out of them, Gallagher unproven at this level so that leaves long, we definitely need a new striker.
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WhoDatSaint added 02:38 - Jul 24 How can so many ask where the goals will come from? Consider this Mane and Pelle scored 11 goal each last season. Long scored 10 and Austin 1, so if they each score 11 this season you are only missing 11 goals. So Clasie, JRod, Hojbjerg, Redmond, Cedric, Gallagher, Reed would need to score 11 goal between them to hit last years total! Tell me you wouldn't take the over on that bet. Go even further and take away Yoshi, Martina and Wanyama's goal a piece and I still would bet they hit 14. That's also saying Romeu and Bertrand only get 1 a piece, JWP only gets 2 and VVD matches his 3, which I highly doubt if JWP gets minutes so he can put those dead balls in the box. If you told me Saints will score less than 59 or even more allow more than 41 this season, I would say to you how much are we betting? Saying we need more cover with only 4 ST with Austin and JRod's injury problems and Gallagher's inexperience makes a lot more sense than where will the goals come from. Especially when Puel ran a 4-1-2-1-2, 5-3-2, 3-5-2 at Nice. The key is he plays with 2 up top which will spread you thin if you only have 4 ST. But he also occasionally played Ben Arfa in one of those spots up top. Showing that in his system he can adapt someone who is not a true ST to play one of those roles. And I believe we have many players that fit that description. Lastly I believe Gallagher could be every bit as good as Pelle, without all the hand waving and pointing or incessantly running fingers through his hair. To me he plays like Harry Kane a year and a half ago. If given the minutes I believe he would pass the test and become a really good or great all around striker.

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