Ralph Hasenhuttl is confident that by the end of the transfer window on Thursday evening that his squad will have seen some new faces arrive at St Mary's, but going out of the door will also be some familiar faces.

Ralph Hasenhuttl is confident that he will have new additions to the squad this week, when asked the question about a new striker after the game against Manchester United, he had this to say.

“I’m confident. We know what we are looking at, but we have to look at a very good team performance today, the only thing that was missing was the final goal and this was a little bit disappointing today,”

“But the rest was good. We created a lot of chances today and this was absolutely good work from the guys up front."

“Che (Adams) did a good job and Arma (Adam Armstrong) was good. We tried really hard but no final goal today.”

Asked if he has a timeframe for a new striker coming in, he admitted: “Not yet.”

This is good news for Saints fans and there is also likely to be at least one more face through the door, potentially a wing back before the window shuts.

However there are likely to be more outgoings than incoming, Jan Bednarek is said to be close to joining Aston Villa, the defender is said to be unhappy at Saints and wanting to leave, however his hopes for a move to a big club have been dashed and there has been little interest in him up to the last week or so.

Villa would be more of a sideways move, however it seems even they do not want him permanently, although the loan deal is said to include an option to buy, I suspect that Villa are merely buying themselves a bit of time after new central defender signing Diego Carlos was ruled out for the season with injury.

Also on the move could be Jack Stephens who is reportably speaking to Watford.

This dual departure would see Saints short in the centre of defence and could mean that also coming in would be a replacement for Bednarek & Stephens.

Nathan Redmond could also be about to end his 6 year spell at the club, the latest rumour is to Galatasaray in Turkey, some will welcome this, but over the years he has contributed a lot to the club and scored some vital goals, not least the only goal in the League Cup semi final first leg of 2016/17, it will be a shame to see him go.

Another stalwart who looks set to leave is Oriol Romeu who has entered the last year of his contract and with age not on his side, looks set to return to his native Spain, again another sad departure, since arriving for around £5 million 7 years ago he has been one of the most consistent players in the squad and must be considered one of the best signings the club have made in the last decade.

Also potentially departing could be Theo Walcott, he is way down the pecking order and it shows how much stronger in depth the squad is this season, in that all five of these players have been regulars in the past two seasons, yet now they can't get into the side and indeed in some cases even on the bench.

If any or indeed all of these five leave the club, then they should go with the best wishes of Saints supporters ringing in their ears, they have all played a part in Southampton FC during their time here, we all have our favourites and those we don't rate, I hold up my hand's here, but I have never accused them of a lack of effort whilst on the field.

Photo: Action Images

Chesham_Saint added 09:02 - Aug 29 I’d be sad to see Romeu go, he’s been great for us and can still provide something. Likewise Redmond who gets unfair stick at times. As for the rest, sincere thanks and good luck for the future. I’d most like to see McCarthy go though - I’ve never rated him.
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TeamCortese added 09:12 - Aug 29 I think all players mentioned in this article have made at some stage a positive contribution to the football club--in particular Romeu. Like Nick, I wish them all the best in their future endeavours. Hopefully, this will trim the wage bill and we have adequate replacements for squad depth.
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SaintNick added 09:14 - Aug 29 Romeu has been superb, but the trick for any player is to replace them just before they start to go downhill through age etc, so perhaps the club have done well by bringing in Lavia now and getting rid of Romeu for a fee is good business, if we keep him and he barely plays and goes for nothing at the end of the season there will be those moaning at the club for not getting rid of him. Redmond has been a good servant to the club and has had some outstanding games at times, and has always created chances. McCarthy is a good back up keeper who can play well for short periods

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derbydog added 09:22 - Aug 29 A word of appreciation for the club’s business plan? Saturday’s goalkeeper and back four but with Livramento at RB and KWP at LB looks like the first choice going forwards. Every one of them young and worth now (after just four games) at least twice what we paid for them. Lavia and JWP in front of them, both worth how much do you think? Sadly, no room for Nick’s choice of West Ham’s Dawson (or any other Dawson, including Les). If we are able to add one more striker to Mara then we have followed the business plan right through the first choice team improving the squad on the field and in value all the way through. That leaves maybe five previously first teamers on the bench to add a strength we have never had before. Remarkable recruitment…

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Monksway added 12:58 - Aug 29 Be a shame for Romeu to go if only because a talented, experienced midfield back up is hard to find. Loans are no good here as they won't get enough game time. Ori knows the club inside out and is a brilliant professional from what I've heard. He will also keep Lavia on his toes.
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underweststand added 18:09 - Aug 29 Agree with everyone above that Romeu has become a fan favourite, but we all have birthdays and every Prem. player over 30 knows that his "sell by date" is getting closer (maybe with the exception of James Milner). As for the rest ....if we didn't have something good to remember them by, we'd have to say they were bad buys. Getting Theo Walcott back was not the success we hoped for, but those who remember him as a teenage sensation, and later watching his golden days with Arsenal and England might have wished he'd stayed in the beginning. Jack Stephens is probably our most successful Academy graduate (efter JWP) and although he never reached " the real Prem. standard" HDAJU on many occasions and should take some pride in his Prem. career. Seems as though Redmond never really found a perfect role, but made some memorable contributions to many games. Sadly, there are very few positive things that can be said about any goalkeeper. When they make great saves we applaud them, but frequently they are the difference between getting a point and going home empty-handed, and in retrospect much the same could be said about Fraser Forster. Some may feel It's easy to find fault with Jan Bednarek, but following in the wake of Fonte and VvD, it must be said that he was a lot better than some others who came after.

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