It looked odds on that when Gaston Ramirez finally came off the Saints payroll in July he would join Middlesbrough, but no it seems there are complications.
Gaston Ramirez has been a raging success up on Teeside for Middlesbrough and it looked certain that Boro would sign him on a free transfer when he leaves Saints in July, but if the North East club thought this would be all plain sailing they were wrong as it now appears that rather than being a free signing, if they want Ramirez then they are going to have to buy him out of a pre contract agreement that he signed with Penarol in his native Uruguay.
What had seemed a formality is now tied up in red tape with his representatives trying to play Boro off against Penarol.
Whether Boro knew about this pre contract deal is unsure, but it appears that they didn't and assumed that with him being so successful and seemingly enjoying his time on Teeside that they would be in the driving seat.
That is not the case and Ramirez's agents seem to be quoting £5 million to get out of the Penarol deal, although whether that would all go to the Uruguayan club is doubtful, Boro are also upset that whilt on one hand they were told Ramirez was keen to join them, on the other he was being touted to other Premier League clubs not to mention Penarol.
So seemingly Boro are not going to get involved in an auction for the player and help his agents push up not only his wages but their fees, with no real focus on what would best for Ramirez career.
From a Saints perspective they are not really affected, thy wil have to pay Ramirez till July when he officially becomes a free agent and rue the day when he was brought to the club as former Chairman Nicola Cortese's "marquee" signing, a folly that has cost the club somewhere north of £30 million.