Saints start the second week of pre season training with yet more rumours doing the rounds.

The one that seems set to run and run until the player signs for someone is Victor Wanyama, will there be an end to this ? seemingly not with more twists and turns than a twisty turny thing, it seems that at the moment Saints are the only game in town willing to pay the big bucks for him, although like most other transfer targets be it being chased by us or any other club outside of the top 6, the player or at least his agent seem to want to hold out for the best deal and as we found out last summer that can mean lots of delays.

One looking unlikely to happen is Leandro Damiao, the Brazilian striker is now likely to be joining Napoli, or at least they seem at the front of the queue, the problem now for Saints is the same as for most of the players we chase, yes we are willing to offer big money, but clubs like Napoli can offer genuine chances to challenge of honours, including European and Champions league places, for their part Napoli finished second in serie A last season and will be in the Champions League, its this sort of thing Saints cant compete with, Napoli can offer a track record of competing for honours at the highest level both domestically and internationally, whilst Saints at this moment in time can only offer words.

This seems to be the problem with most of the players we are linked with, not just now but in the last two transfer windows, in essence we are trying to jump two levels with our transfer targets and this will always make it hard to land a player, yes money will always be a consideration for a player, but if two clubs are paying around the same, then its going to be about what can be offered in the way of on the pitch, for Damiao its perhaps easy, sign for a mid table Premiership club or sign for one of the top clubs in Italy who are in the Champions League.

Perhaps this should tell us something, concentrate on the type of player suited to the next level above us, not two or three.

On the plus side we are linked with another central defender although this could be lazy jounrnalism as the player in question was not only playing in Spain last term, but is also Argentinian, Martin Demichelis has just been released by Malaga, in my opinion he could be just what Saints need, ie an International who having played not only for his country but for two of the top teams in the World,  River Plate and Bayern Munich, in essence he has a bit of experience, however against him is the fact tht he will be 33 in December and this is not the age group that our Chairman likes to sign, however perhaps he could look back to his arrival at the club when Radhi Jaidi came in and for a couple of seasons helped in moulding a promotion winning side to get out of League One, sometimes its not just about youth or players with sell on valuea, but in getting a squad with the right balance.

So will this coming week be just another one of continued rumour and disapointment, or will it yield what the fans are craving for and that is actual signings, the rumour mill is relentless, however there is one thing that can slow it down and that is action in the transfer market rather than words, as supporters we all like to hear fine words from our football club, but we prefer less rumour and more pen to paper.  

Of course the season is still over five weeks away so there is plenty of time for thos signings, so there is no need to panic yet, but plenty of clubs are starting to make some good signings now, we dont want to get left behind.     

Photo: Action Images

LeSaint added 10:47 - Jul 8 I agree that we are aiming to high for our transfer targets, and I'm concerned that while we are wasting our time trying to sign players who are clearly dragging things on, waiting for an offer from "bigger" clubs, the players we could be signing instead will have been snapped by others. I am beginning to think that our scouting network is a bit of a waste of money too. It would prove usefull if it came up with Michu like discoveries, but if it's to identify the likes of Damiao or Banega who are known as good players and are expensive because everybody wants them, there is no point scouting Europe.

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BaselSaint added 12:24 - Jul 8 I think Cortese is a quick learner and sly with it. I reckon some of this is a smokescreen for agents; meanwhile he may be hatching something in the background we dont even know about. It will be interesting to see what actually does happen.
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Bulgarian added 12:40 - Jul 8 I read the Damiao reports linking him with Napoli very carefully and they are very misleading: first there is a statement that Napoli are the newest bidders, but - second - the confirmation is just his agent saying: "There is interest etc." with no real info about the club, country or at least the profile of the club involved. So I gather this is a new gossip materialising, nothing too serious to bother us. Concerning our overal policy of aiming at players 2-3 levels above our position: I don't think it's bad at all. Even if nothing happens immediately, this is really a statement of intent which could help us with future signings in the coming seasons. That's good forward thinking. I also don't accept the criticism towards our souting system: not every Michu can flourish in the EPL, so let's be positive. Our boat is captained by a skilfull and active crew, going forwards. More results will come, but it takes time. Wonderful times for admirers of good football businessmen - for once we can really be proud of our club management.

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slynch added 13:08 - Jul 8 So there's at least one Bulgarian that talks sense!
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moran89thmin added 14:24 - Jul 8 Yes, the next level for us is where Swansea and West Brom are now, ie comfortable mid-table and just thinking about snapping at the heels of the big boys. If we can achieve this over the next two seasons, then summer 2015 is when we really ought to be pushing on for European qualification. Hopefully by then our youth policy will be delivering and it will be easier to get at least one mega-signing.......

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ExiledSupporter added 18:17 - Jul 8 Bulgarian, look at some of the players we have signed and their cost and their questionable value to us...and then think again about how good is our scouting system!
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Bulgarian added 21:57 - Jul 8 I totally agree: "some of the players we have signed and their cost..." are undoubtedly of "questionable value". But - please - the quality of our staff, maganing body, scouting is measured not by our failures but rather our successes. Every club has its Ali Dia, Tino, you-name-it, but not every club has its "Michu" (who is very popular recently amongs our posters). BTW: part of our recruits of "questionable value" are not guilty of failing to produce - as Nick summarised in his reports, they can be seen as victims of the team strategy / tactics (at least to some extent). 2nd BTW: Forren, for instance, is still an untried horse, we will hear more from him in the next 3-4 months.

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GeordieSaint added 08:03 - Jul 9 Get Jaidi back, what a rock. What about Gallas on a free, has he got a team yet?
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ExiledSupporter added 10:00 - Jul 9 Bulgarian, the quality of our scouting is reflected not by the high profile players that we are linked with (and lots of other teams might reasonably) be interested in buying - you and I can do that - and are continuously touted by their agents and widely reported in the media. It's either the overlooked and underpriced talents like Michu or the 'unknown' high potential youngsters that the likes of Arsenal find that distinguishes a quality scouting organisation from the 'flash the cash' chase for over exposed and greedy established players. I agree with you that the utility of some of our signings have been victims of our strategy/tactics, and that isn't their fault...but, it points to a recurring inability to synchronise our signings with our team formation/tactics on the pitch. And that's a serious management problem! Unfortunately I can't comment on Forren who I had thought was going to prove to be a young quality player of the low profile variety that I think we should be investing in. However his extended non appearance and even his lack of rave notices in reserve team appearances has considerably undermined my confidence in his potential. I hope I am wrong but, like Nick, I can't resolve the non-use of this player with the claims made for his potential by many users of this site based on little evidence other than blind faith in the management (for which as I've already said there seems little supporting evidence as regards transfer wisdom)

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Bulgarian added 15:04 - Jul 9 ExiledSupporter, I think we are looking at the same thing with considerable caution (You) and default optimism (me). I have to put my trust in the managing body because so far they have shown astute business strategy imo, as well as commitment to the cause of improving the club rather than making profit of it - and that I admire strongly. That is my opinion and belief. The pleasure discussing this topic with you is that I see Your arguments; only time will tell which of us will be closer to the truth. Concerning the "Michu case" - this is a good proof of my position. We can thrive to identify the next bargain buy (which is great in itself) or we can try to sign some big name in order to enhance our media/business profile. Or we can do both (which I believe is the case with us). We just have to accept that SFC for once can afford to think big: whether we will be succsessful I don't know, but I'd rather enjoy this situation for it is a rare one.

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schatfield added 16:32 - Jul 9 to be honest, I would be fine with signing no more players now. We have signed up 1 expensive defender with some quality, and we have the norweigan still to play. I dont think we need more mid-fielders. Possibly 1 more striker, but hard to say, as it won't fit into the style we now play.
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abingdonsaint added 17:58 - Jul 9 As ever, an interesting range of opinions, with my personal view in sympathy with Bulgarian. What I find particularly bizarre though is this surprise at the profile of the players we are linked with, and that some think we are 'aiming too high'....really?!? I hate to harp on about my earlier comments regarding our transfer policy, but what has happened so far is entirely consistent with them. Lovren (NOT Chris Baird!) is exactly the type I expected, as are the likes of Wanyama and Banega. We will be buying a relatively small number of young, high quality players, not loads that can 'do a job'. No chance of a 33 year old, as I am sure we are more likely to promote a youngster to gain experience. I am also pretty sure that Cortese, for better or worse, does not regard West Brom etc as the 'next level'.....at least not the level we are aiming at. Although they stuffed us last season, I have to say I saw enough under Poch in terms of the quality of football, if not always results, to think that we are not a million miles away. So, to summarise, I actually like the fact that we are aiming high and trying to be a bit different.....it just seems that a lot of our supporters have got an ingrained inferiority complex.....sod that....COYR!!

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ExiledSupporter added 11:23 - Jul 10 Bulgarian, my issue is not with Cortese re financial management etc (tho' I wonder if we can genuinely afford all these fancy prices) but do not think that business acumen necessarily means an ability to appraise players for their qualities and potential and relevance. This is not directly Cortese's fault, it seems to me to be primarily Reed's, perhaps Cortese's failing is to put continued faith in this guy, who peculiarly seems to have such a low profile. I would like to have a clearer view of the demarcation lines between his role and MP's responsibilities. Clearly there was some asymmetry between Reed's role and Adkins' understanding of his own input. Anyway I'm not impressed by Reed's performance and I'm surprised that Cortese doesn't 'appear' to be dissatisfied too

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