Although Saints fans are berating the club about the lack of signings made, the truth is most deals are done in August, we are finally there so no excuses now !

Most transfer deals are usually completed in August, although some happen earlier in July after the about to depart player has received his "annual loyalty bonus" the window doesn't start to hot up to we get into August.

There is no real reason for that other than the selling club is usually trying to push the price up so will try to garner more interest in their player and potential buying clubs get more desperate as the season grows closer and indeed the transfer window end looms.

Also there is the chain reaction affect, sometimes a deal needs to be done at one end of the chain to kick start a flurry of moves or it is a player out of contract on 1st July.

A look back over the years at Saints transfer dealings shows that we often get an early signing in, but August is the busy month.

In 2012 on our return to the Premier League we signed three players in July, the first Steven Davis was effectivily a free agent due to the problems Rangers had and the second Nathaniel Clyne was out of contract. The third was Paulo Gazzaniga who was not seen as a first team player.

August saw a flurry with Mayuka, Yoshida and Ramirez all arriving in the final three days of the window, plus the out of contract Artur Boruc in Sptember.

2013 did see us do our business early with Lovren arriving in June and then Wanyama in July wih Osvaldo completing our summer business mid August.

A year later in 2014 saw the summer of discontent, although by the end of July we had lost the Infamous Five of Lambert, Lallana, Lovren, Shaw and Chambers we had only signed Tadic and Pelle by the end of that month.

It was the 9th of August before Fraser Forster became the third signing of the Koeman era, swiftly followed by Long, Gardos, Mane & Bertrand.

2015 perhaps bucked the trend a little, Juanmi and Cedric Soares were Saints players before June was out and July saw them joined by Martina & Clasie with Romeu next to arrive on August 12th and Virgil Van Dijk on deadline day.

Last year saw Nathan Redmond in early doors at the end of June with three out Juanmi, Wanyama and Mane before July had even arrived, we then made one signing in that month Pierre Emile Hojbjerg and it would be August before McCarthy, Pied and Boufal arrived.

So the pattern is that unless a deal has something different about it ie out of contract or a deal all signed and delivered for a player surplus to requirements at his current club, it is August before the real business is done.

So although yes I would perhaps have liked to have seen a little more transfer action than there has been at the moment I am not worried, firstly because I think we have a squad that needs tweaking rather than overhauling.

By that I think that last season we had a good squad, it managed an 8th place finish even given the issues we had with the manager, our former captain and of course injuries to key players.

Indeed outside of the top six how many teams could have coped with losing their top scorer, top central defender and Captain all in the space of a month, that shows the depth of the squad that we could overcome that and reach a cup final as well.

But the real issue was the manager, the board had to look at what was the problem, it wasn't the quality of the squad it was the way it was being run with strange tactical formations, style of play and the worrying rotational system, take all of those things out of the equation and you keep those that are part of the solution ie the players and get rid of the problem which we did do.

That being the case then Mauricio Pellegrino has a good solid base to work with and build on, but he does not need wholesale changes.

Supporters want to see goalscorers brought in, but that is not our problem, the issue last season wasn't that we did not have people who could score goals, it was that we didn't play to their strengths which in turn saw the complete breakdown of any sort of attacking momentum, when players did score they were often dropped.

Of course any side wants to see incoming strikers, but they need to improve the side, in Gabbiadini and Austin we have two contrasting styles of striker and both can hit 15 goals next season, to back them up we have Shane Long who suffered most under Puel, but he can get ten goals a season and create that many again for other players.

We then have the wide attacking options that could also include the versatile Long, that is to say Boufal, Tadic and Redmond, all capable of not only scoring 7-10 goals each in a season, but creating many more and i haven't even mentioned likes of Josh Sims, Sam Gallagher and Jake Hesketh all chomping at the bit.

So we can bide our time in attack.

In the centre of midfield I think we are well served, Oriol Romeu, Steven Davis and James Ward Prowse are all well established, but add to them Pierre Emile Hojberg and Jordie Clasie and you have five players for two positions who can offer differing options.

In defence we are spoiled for choice at either full back position, Cedric and Jeremy Pied are both of the standard required and on the left, Ryan Bertrand is the best English left back in the Premier League, coming up behind him is Matt Targett who suffered under Koeman and then most of last year injured, his pre season form has looked good, he will push Ryan Bertrand soon and will not let us down when he plays, mot to mention Sam McQueen.

So that leaves the centre of defence and that is the problem area, to be blunt and regular readers know I like to be that, Virgil Van Dijk aside we do not have one central defender a tthe club who is proven as a quality top flight defender.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating and new man Bednarek aside, if the rest are so good why are they still at the club and not snapped up by another Premier League side ?

But that is not the full picture all offer options, just not at this moment in time as first choice defenders.

So if Saints buy only two more players this window, they both need to be central defenders, one to partner Van Dijk and the second to replace him when he inevitably goes, albeit it might not be this window.

The aquisition of one is essential, I would be happy if we only made one more signing as long as it was a central defender with a proven track record.

So sometimes a transfer window is not about replacing players for the sake of it, it has to be about building a squad and tweaking it year on year, of course departures affect that and you usually have to replace a quality player who has gone, but apart from that it does not have to be change for change sake.

The transfer window is artificially inflated at the moment, Saints fans look at the signings that Everton have made and moan, but truthfully most are average players bought for silly prices, Everton have a big issue next season and that is replacing the 25 Premier League goals he scored, OK Cuco Martina might weigh in with wonder goal when Arsenal arrive but that still leaves two dozen to make up for.

So I expect a quiet August for Saints, but the key is in central defence, that is the weakness Van Dijk or no Van Dijk !

Photo: Action Images

aceofthebase added 10:20 - Aug 1 If you judge a player by the number of offers we are getting, then none of our players and not just our CBs, can be considered good enough to play in the premier league, or are we fighting off offers for Clasie Cedric Long Forster Romeu Tadic etc etc and even VVD.
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SaintNick added 10:34 - Aug 1 Actually Cedric, Long, and Tadic have all been the subject of interest from other Premier League clubs, it is about context, Gardos, Yoshida and Stephens have all been at the club a long time and none have commanded a regular first team place in that time up to January of this year. Yoshida for instance would be a good target for a lower Premier League side or even a Championship side offering him a regular game, dont forget in Koeman's last year he was behind Martina and at one stage Gardos in the pecking order. Stephens did go out on loan in 2015/16 firstly to Championship Middlesbrough where he could not get in the side and managed 1 sub appearance before we recalled him and sent him to Coventry literally, to play in their League 1 side. Gardos has been injured and actually perhaps is the best of the trio if you look at the performances he put in under Koeman in the first 5 months before dropping out of favour and then injury

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Webbinho added 11:10 - Aug 1 Completely agree with the post. We need a CB or two, however I jut don't see it. Bednarek for me was bought to replace Yoshida as bench warmer. Yoshida has been promoted to first choice alongside VVD and I don't see that changing. So its VVD and Yoshida with Stephens, Gardos and Bednarek as backup. If VVD stays I think there will be nobody in, lets hope if he does go we have a deal lined up as I'm sure we will let it run and run and run.

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larry12 added 11:36 - Aug 1 I agree with Nick that the present squad just needs tweaking. I would tweak Prowse, Davis, Hodge, Tadic and Targett into a dustbin and buy 4 good, box to box fmidfielders for £50m + .Davis and Romeo as advanced centrebacks and one attacking midfielder in Mr Plod Pwousey, against 4 to five midfield opposition, is such a vast joke it's no longer amusing. Les Reed is and was an abject failure who is going to disappoint 30,000+ Saints fans in his 5th window in a row.

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highfield49 added 12:13 - Aug 1 As good as Romeu is I don't think we've ever recovered from the loss of Wanyama and Schneiderlin so I'd like to see either Clasie or Hojbjerg replaced by a tougher competitor in midfield. Definitely an established central defender with top level experience to replace Fonte and fingers crossed that between them Redmond, Tadic, Long, JWP, Boufal and Davis can all become a threat to the goal rather than the top tier seats of the stadium.

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Bettwsresident added 13:13 - Aug 1 I rate Stephens, he has time on the ball and reads the game well, and Yoshida seemed to eradicate the silly errors that had made him a defeat machine before. Both can partner VVD/ or continue to improve as a prtnership themselves. If we can keep and re-enagage VVD, we don't need to sign anyone, but rather get the sqad working. I think the board can see this and hence appointed a manager who is all about 'team' spirit.

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kristianJ added 13:21 - Aug 1 I think Highfield49 makes a good point about the need for another "destroyer" in the squad. If Romeu got injured for a lenghty period I think we'd struggle. Whilst the points about the lack of interest in Yosh and Stephens seem well reasoned, it should be added that its unlikely other clubs would bother with a bid at the moment for either of them as we would have to be barmy to sell either given the VVD situation. I think the other clubs would have worked out it would be pointless to bother. I'd still like to bring in Hoedt from Lazio, who looks well priced at £12 million.

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SaintBrock added 14:34 - Aug 1 There has been no indication from the board that anything much has changed since Les said several weeks ago that he was expecting a vey quiet window. We have learned from past seasons not to raise our hopes too much by taking notice of rumours linking top players to us only for the reality to be less than the sum of the parts. Most of the players we've been linked to and/or we have only the slightest chance of luring to St Mary's have now been safely rehoused in various parts of the North West or London so candidly what's left out there that would be any better than what we have. What with the uncertainty surrounding future ownership, these seem to me to be enough reasons to assume we have done all the business we plan to do

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GeordieSaint added 15:19 - Aug 1 Maybe we heard of no offers for our players as the club has repeatedly said no one they want to keep is for sale and they are all on long contracts now? Shame we couldn't be looking forward to mayuka and Juanmi up top together. That would be lethal! Gabbianini and Austin will get at least 25 between them this year, mark my words.
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SaintNick added 15:39 - Aug 1 The pessimism amongst Saints fans baffles me, if we had just had four seasons scraping around the lower mid table then i could understand it, but we have just had four top ten finishes in a row, something we have never done before. The club talks big and tries to drum up interest and is slagged off when it cant compete with the wages of the big six, the club plays down transfers and it is accused of keeping the fans in the dark etc. I would say if the fans cnt back this club and get behind it in the best period of its history in terms of league position and stature in the pecking order then when can they ??

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Yank118 added 17:12 - Aug 1 I for one would like to see the club add a CB, strong defensive mid and potentially another option up front. However, I believe a more pressing posture will allow our talent to play to their strengths...and more goals off counters while allowing Tadic, Boufal and Redmond to create opportunities rather than just playing it backward like last year. Go Saints!
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