Despite being reinstated back into the squad for the pre season trip to Austria after returning from his loan spell at Inter Milan, Cedric Soares is still likely to leave in the coming weeks.
Cedric Soares is not in dispute with Saints, his time at the club is coming to a natural end after a four year stay as although he is still only 27 and at the peak of his career, he is now behind Yan Valery in the pecking order.
In an ideal World he would stay and put pressure on Valery and provide vital back up, not to mention perhaps regaining his first team place, but with a year left on his contract this is not the the ideal world.
Therefore Saints have to look to do what is best for the club and that is to get a decent fee for him now.
There does not appear to be a shortage of suitors for his services, perhaps Inter Milan where only playing both Saints and the player himself when they took him on loan in January with an option to buy, but he is still highly rated in European football.
Arsenal, Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain are said to be among the clubs interested in him, according to the media, although as we all know, what the media say is often nowhere near the truth but merely agent talk trying to generate interest.
But the likelihood is that there are some clubs interested including a return to his native Portugal with Sporting Lisbon, so although he may well yet not have made his last appearance in a Saints shirt, it is probable that he won't play competitively again for the club and by the time the Premier League season begins he will have departed.
Cedric has been a good servant to Saints and good value for money, Ralph Hasenhuttl does not seem to have any issues with him and is happy to have him in the squad, indeed like most managers, in that ideal world he would keep him, but this summer is just as much about who we can get rid of than sign.