The worst kept secret is out, but is Jose Fonte just being greedy is the question on most Saints fans lips.
With the recent run of bad form and criticism of Claude Puel and his tactics it would be easy for Saints fans to think that his reason for wanting to leave St Mary's after 7 years is to do with the manager, however the truth is that Fonte has wanted out of St Mary's season.
There are many wanting to lay the blame at the feet of Les Reed and the club for the bombshell that Jose Fonte wants away, but the club have taken little time in getting out the facts of the situation that despite what Fonte has been leaking to the press via his agent, Saints have been doing everything to keep him including a pay rise and a contract extension.
A year ago Fonte was happy to sign a new improved deal so what has changed, in short the players agent, he now has Jorge Mendes in charge and reading into it Mendes wants to get more money for his client Fonte and more money for his other client Jose Mourinho and in doing so more money for himself.
After all why would the manager of Manchester United be looking to sign a player in the twilight of his career for the £8 million touted in the media back in August ?
The answer did not please the board at Old Trafford who were expecting their new manager to be enticing players at the top of their game to the Theatre Of Dreams for big money.
In fact Les Reed has confirmed that the moment Fonte returned from the Euros in the summer his attitude had changed and he made it clear to the club that he wanted out before a ball had been kicked.
The club kept this from supporters as they tried to get their captain to stay in order to preserve his reputation with the fans in the hope they could persuade him to change his mind.
Les Reed commented.
"Yes. He has formally asked for a transfer.
"He mooted this earlier in the summer when he rejected the original offer to improve his contract and has repeated it since. In doing so he has declined the opportunity to both improve and extend his contract.
"Those are the facts on the table. The other fact is that we haven’t had enquiries for him, so will he leave or will he not leave? I don’t know.
"He certainly won’t leave on the basis that he can just go.
"We would not consider releasing him unless there was a decent transfer fee and secondly that we were in a position to replace him. If anybody comes along on the last day of the transfer window it’s not going to happen.
"He’s aware of all that and he has been very professional. He has played well when he’s played, and he is our captain, and if he remains at the club, which I would say is a strong possibility, then we would expect him to play the second half of the season in that manner right the way through.
"Jose is obviously 33 years of age, and maybe feels there is a different opportunity for him out there to be able to finish his career with a bumper contract. He has been a great servant to the club and we respect that."
"It is what it is and we will wait and see if anything transpires.”
Saints have been criticised by some fans who thought they had not offered Fonte any extension to his deal, but while Reed would not divulge direct details, he did insist that was not the case.
"I am not going to go into the details of what was offered to Jose,”
"What was offered to Jose was quite significant on the back of the fact he signed a contract in October 2015. So six months later we were prepared to improve that contract and extend it.
"The question of another year is not one we have rejected. He has turned down the opportunity to increase his salary and he has turned down the opportunity to get another permanent year on his contract.
"It is not right for me to go into the details of his contract.”
In fairness to Reed he is still being very conciliatory towards Fonte, but privately the club have been very frustrated by the players attitude and were not impressed back in August at the way his agent took the situation into the public eye using the media to try and force the clubs hand.
Reed has also made the clubs position very clear that they would not be held to ransom and forced to sell the player, this has clearly been the case over the past six months and those fans who claim the club sell any player if they get a big offer have been proved wrong in this case.
In truth £8 million for a player about to turn 33 was a good deal for the club, however only if they could get the right man at the right price, Fonte's attitude took them completely by surprise in the summer and replacing him has not been a priority up to this point, they had seen him as a vital part of the team for this season.
That meant they could not get their man to replace him, but they refused to be browbeaten despite extreme pressure from Fonte's agent via the media.
Fonte has previously claimed that the club had not offered hm a new deal, at the time this statement coming only two days before the home game against Be'er Sheva did not impress either the club or Fonte's team mates, it was seen as a disruptive comment at a time when the squad needed to be focused on an important fixture and goes a long way to explain why Fonte did not figure in that game.
But the club played down the comments knowing that it would only cause more disruption than was needed although they were seething.
Now though the club have taken off the kid gloves and are making it quite clear what is happening to the fans, the truth is that the player and his agent have crossed a line and it is hard to see a way back.
Reed clearly knows why Fonte is seeking a move and can understand the reasons ie a big pay day, that has not been the issue, the issue has only been about the way that Fonte and his agent have tried to force the issue when the club made it clear that they would not let him go till a replacement is in place.
Back in August lack of time was a factor, now though hopefully the club has had six months to source a replacement and could make a signing imminently.
You have the feeling though that they are incensed by the behaviour they have had to put up with and even though they might sign a new central defender they won't be selling Fonte just yet unless they truly get a massive offer.
The situation at Manchester United has changed, Mourinho has had his card marked by the United hierarchy, he has also sorted out his team and got them back on course, before he couldalmost justify buying Fonte, now that is not so easy with United's defence now a lot more solid and only Chelsea and Spurs having conceded less, United won't countenance a big money move for a player the age and bluntly the quality of Fonte.
As I said there are many who would like to point the finger at Claude Puel for the situation, but the reality is far different, the manager has had to remain silent and let fans blame the rotation policy for Fonte's absence in some crucial games, now it seems that perhaps the manager would have preferred to play him but it wasn't as simple as that.
Indeed Fonte was not selected for the opening game of the season, despite being back at the club and others who had played in the Euros being fit and ready, the reason for that is perhaps becoming clearer now.
Jose Fonte has truly been a club legend up to this summer, sadly that reputation is looking tarnished