So far Saints have improved the squad well but without spending too much compared to what has been received, is there a big signing in the offing ?

The rumour is that Ron Vlaar will become Ronald Koeman's sixth signing of the summer in the next day or so, the capture of Vlaar would strengthen the squad that is for sure, but as he is available on a free transfer after leaving Villa at the end of his contract it would still leave a big difference between what Saints have received in and what they have spent out.

The sale of Schneiderlin and Clyne will have netted the club around £35 million after paying Crystal Palace their share of the fee for Clyne , but the outlay so far is only around half of that.

So even if Vlaar does arrive I feel that Saints spending is not yet finished, I think that Ronald Koeman will feel that there is still scope for another central defender and a big fee one at that, Virgil Van Dijk from Celtic is being touted and I think if Vlaar does arrive his injury problems will mean that Koeman will feel he needs not only cover but a younger man in place due to both Vlaar if he arrives and Fonte being the wrong side of 30.

I also feel that the Dutch manager would probably feel that he does not have a genuine winger in the squad at present, yes he has several options who can play out wide, but he does not have a flyer in the mode of Andros Townsend and the England man could be an option from Spurs although understandably relations between the two clubs are strained at present.

All in all though Koeman will play this low key now, so far he has replaced the departed trio with five new signings and you could call that six if you add Jay Rodriguez who missed the whole of last season.

So Koeman will feel that if he does add Vlaar he has a much stronger squad than last season in terms of options and quantity and that should not be underestimated as in the second half of last season due to mainly injuries we dropped points especially away from home where we lacked depth.

But I'm sure Koeman would also feel that he just needs a couple of quality signings in key areas, so I would not be surprised if one perhaps two more signings come in.

With everyone fit though it is hard to see just where we would fit players in, virtually every position in the team now has at least two players competing for the spot, sometimes three when you look at the youngsters coming through, Koeman has to strike the right balance of having a strong squad but not having a top heavy one meaning that too many players don't get games.

The two positions that we do need a little more quality though are as I have mentioned central defence and a genuine wide man, so this is where I would expect any incoming business to be done.

But we are now better prepared to not only the rigours of a Premier League season, but to fight in the three cup competitions that we are in.

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derbydog added 10:46 - Jul 19 Both Adams, BBC and Echo, told us weeks ago when this was first floated in the national press that there was no interest in Vlaar. He also doesn't match our transfer policy -- we don't buy players we can't improve (either for us or more likely for Man U or Liverpool). Also, according to your logic that a younger more expensive CB is on the cards, we wouldn't need Vlaar anyway. We have Font plus Gardos and Yoshida (who would both have to leave if your scenario were to play out) and three kids including the England Under 20 captain and Will Wood who would hit the buffers if we took on two new CBs. So to sum up, I think no to Vlaar (agent talk), yes to a new younger developable CB (Van Dyke?) and opportunities for at least one of our kids in secondary competitions. Yoshida and Gardo to get their chancesas back ups if the kids prove to be not up to the first team (yet). At that point we will have at least two CBs too many.

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SaintDownUnder added 10:47 - Jul 19 Given we typicall play 4-3-3 and Pelle is RKs main man through the centre that means we have Mane, Long, JRod, Tadic, Juanmi all competing for the the other two spots up front. These guys presumably supported by Vic, Clasie and Davies. I don't think a winger is our priority I'd say a centre forward is more pressing, what happens if Pelle gets hit by a bus or we want a plan B if his goals dry up? Surely we have to learn our lessons form last year.......

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trampslykeus added 11:36 - Jul 19 I would agree with SaintDownUnder. When Pelle's goals dried up we struggled. Unless we are going to play JRod up front, I would try and get Charlie Austin. As well as Van Dijk. There should be plenty in the kitty after last summer's sales, Morgan, Nat & Jack Cork.
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Toussaint added 11:45 - Jul 19 Just read Vlaar is injured for a lot longer than was reported,personally I just keep thinking about the fastest hat-trick in the EPL and him all over the place lol that was fun to watch and no thanks to having him on our team. Buying another centre-back and a centre midfielder would make more sense, as we have replaced Spider but not Cork and I cant see Classie playing right through the Xmas/New Year schedule

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IWOZTHERE added 12:25 - Jul 19 With reference to Vlaar in particular, I don't think you're having a lot of luck with the timing of your articles lately Nick! Even without his injury(s) it's blatantly obvious that Jose needs a fast, mobile guy alongside him and I'd have been well p****d off if he'd been signed 'cos he was 'free' unless it was for cover. I hope Van Dijk is a deal in waiting, then big sigh of relief! Then, with both Jay and Sadio capable of playing wide I still think a big target man/striker should be the priority and funds permitting, Austin sounds excellent value except his wages are allegedly high?

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TeamCortese added 12:54 - Jul 19 I personally think we should scrap interest in Vlaar. He would be at best a very good back-up option and as pointed out earlier Gardos & Yoshida should be sufficient cover. Also both should be given a chance to step-up and see if they are good enough to be first choice centre backs. I still for the life of me can't understand why we didn't go in for Cabaye. With the greatest respect to Clasie, Cabaye has more PL experience and was only a couple of million more. Even with his relationship with Pardew surely we could have attracted him with playing Europa League and working with Ronald Koeman. Moreover regular football would give him more of a claim in the French Squad for the Euros next year. I personally think we should prioritise Virgil Van Dijk, Charlie Austin and Andros Townsend. If we qualify for Europe against Vitesse then we'll definitely do more signings to handle the extra games. This, of course, depends on the quality of our youth products breaking into the first team as well.

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BUCK added 13:25 - Jul 19 RON VLAAR IS OUT OF ACTION FOR 4 MONTHS AFTER HAVING KNEE SURGERY. TIME TO LOOK AWAY FROM THIS SICKNOTE.
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SaintBrock added 14:34 - Jul 19 You don't need a double first to anticipate another significant signing, after all Les Reed said exactly that a week or two ago.Clearly the Club strategy was to complete all new signings and ship out the leavers in time for bedding down the new team in the July pre-season kick-bouts. Something is holding things up clearly whether it's a club pressing for more cash or haggling over personal terms. It's pretty safe bet that it will be somebody from a UK club rather than abroad as it seems relatively easy to bring people from overseas clubs into the country with the lure of the premier league. If we are after a premier league player than the only carrot is money and that's what usually hold things up. Maybe we are still after Hernandez or even Walcott?

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IWOZTHERE added 14:52 - Jul 19 As this thread's slow, can I go 'off piste?' Who's our penalty taker? Tadic didn't exactly inspire me with confidence last season. (although it's good that he's looking in 'good nick' generally in time for this season.
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derbydog added 17:07 - Jul 19 Jay Rod took a lot of pens for Burnley. If he can wrestle the ball of Mane!
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BoondockSaint added 22:36 - Jul 19 I'm of the opinion that the manager should appoint the penalty taker when he hands in the line up. If the penalty taker is subbed, then the manager names the new one. This would stop the childish arguing amongst the players on the field-the manager is the one in charge, not them. If football wanted to be fair, it would be like ice hockey and the penalty would be taken by the fouled player (unless he cannot continue-and is not allowed back into the game) It makes no sense that a player who has only scored 2 goals in his career is taken down (or dives) and up steps a player who scores 20 a season. The whole reason for the penalty is to re-start the game and give back the scoring opportunity that was denied by the foul.

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Jesus_02 added 12:18 - Jul 20 Re Pen taker: JWPs pen was good, if he is going to play regularly then maybe this should be meat and potatoes for him, and a confidence builder. He is a good young player with good delivery ect. My worry with him is that our style of football may not suit him in the long run.
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IWOZTHERE added 14:36 - Jul 20 Agree about the potential of JWP and the view about the player fouled taking the pen actually makes a lot of sense. Don't suppose you are allowed to bring a player off the bench after a pen. has been awarded?....... breaking news...Saints sign legendary penalty taker from Sky sports News team.....?
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