Claude Puel has reassured Saints supporters that Jose Fonte will remain at St Mary's after discussions with Saints Chairman Ralph Krueger.

The French manager was firm in his statement earlier this afternoon that Jose Fonte would be remaining at the club.

‘His work with Southampton is not finished," said Puel.

"There are good opportunities in Europe and the Premier League and for me it’s very important to keep Jose."

"He’s okay with this. He had a good discussion with the director, the chairman and now it’s okay. The fans can be happy because Jose’s staying."

Interesting statement from the Saints manager in that it is quite blunt that Fonte will be staying, but there is no mention of a new contract or otherwise, this will perhaps lead some to think that the discussions may have seen some straight talking from Ralph Krueger, that he has reiterated the club's position and that is that with with two years left on his deal, the club has all the cards in this situation.

Just how "Okay" Fonte is will remain to be seen and whether this will see Manchester United or rather Fonte's agent Jorge Mendes back off or up the stakes is yet to be seen.

Photo: Action Images

BaselSaint added 07:34 - Aug 26 Knuckle down and do your job like Morgan had to in his last year. Thats life for all of us who work - not everything goes your way. These guys are rewarded beyond te dreams of ordinary people. Dont get me wrong I respect and like Jose but there is a bigger picture.
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pintsizedsaint added 09:08 - Aug 26 I still maintain this has been agent talk all along, with a view to getting Fonte the best deal possible. Seems strange as I suspect SFC would have offered new wages in any event. The Euro win put Fonte in a even-better position. I wonder whether this was about extension of contract too - perhaps Fonte wanted reassurance that he could continue playing beyond 2018. Perhaps he wanted to know if there was a role for him beyond his playing career. Was that the sticking point? Was that what the talks covered? Whatever it was, it seems it has been resolved. Yet it does appear as if SFC have made it clear that they will not extend - but perhaps more has been done to reassure. I don't blame Fonte (or his agent) for this. After all the hyperbole that surrounds the concept of the greedy, overpaid modern footballer, you can forget the history of football - and that clubs see players as commodities that can be discarded when past their sell-by date or damaged. You only have to read the sad story about that Man Utd player Adrian Doherty to get a sense of why footballers try to get the best deal possible when they can.

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SaintBrock added 14:47 - Aug 26 In any walk of life you have to look after No 1 first as nobody else will. Jose is no different to the rest of us in that respect. What has disappointed me most about this whole episode is how quickly many so-called fans have turned on him and been ready to stick the knife and the boot in based entirely on no information and endless rumour.
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