With Rickie Lambert’s impending £4.5m move to Anfield and Manchester United attempting to sign the left-back Luke Shaw before the World Cup, Southampton are bracing themselves for a mass exodus less than a month after achieving their highest-ever Premier League finish of eighth.
Mauricio Pochettino left St Mary’s on Tuesday to become Tottenham’s manager and Saints continue to search for his replacement. Les Reed, the director of football, is having to deal with the sale of Lambert and the pursuit of Shaw by United, and several others, while also determining the futures of a number of players including Jay Rodriguez and Dejan Lovren.
Lambert is due to have a medical on Merseyside on Saturday after Southampton accepted a revised offer from Liverpool for the England striker. The 32-year-old was the subject of a bid of £4m plus add-ons on Thursday by Liverpool, who became aware of the Kirkby-born player’s availability during their inquiries for Lallana and the Croatian central defender Lovren. Both players are of interest to Pochettino at Spurs with the Argentinian manager also having targeted Rodriguez, their currently injured team-mate.
Discussions over the structure of the deal for Lambert, with Liverpool offering several performance-related payments, continued on Friday when Southampton accepted £4.5m up front, plus add-ons. Lambert will be involved in England’s World Cup warm-up game against Peru at Wembley on Friday and, barring any problems, will then travel to Merseyside to become Brendan Rodgers’ first signing of the summer. He is believed to have agreed personal terms with Liverpool and the transfer is expected to be completed by Monday.
United are racing against the clock to sign Shaw. The club are heartened after he again made them his No1 choice but are conscious that once England leave their World Cup training camp for Brazil next weekend there will be little chance of buying him until after the tournament.
Shaw, having considered his options over the past week, is intent on signing for United though there is no cast-iron guarantee Old Trafford is where he will start next season.
Although the left-back has accepted the possibility that his future may not be determined until after the World Cup, there is still hope United can complete a deal before next weekend. England fly to their Miami camp on Sunday after Friday night’s warm-up game against Peru at Wembley.
The camp in Florida ends on Saturday week before Roy Hodgson’s squad leave for Brazil ahead of the tournament’s start on 12 June, which is the following Thursday. Any deal for Shaw could still be sealed before then though there is recognition on all sides that the preference for players is to focus solely on the competition in the final few days before it commences.
Southampton value Shaw at £30m, with United having previously made a bid of £27m, while offering him around £100,000 a week. Chelsea, one of a clutch of clubs that also want the left-back, are resistant to meeting the £30m price and, it is understood, would propose paying a weekly wage in the region of £60,000.
After United’s torrid summer last year regarding acquisitions, during which several deals failed to occur if a move for Shaw – or any other deal – is not completed before the tournament, the club could again face an equally trying close-season.
As Louis van Gaal, the new manager and current Holland coach, does not take over until after his involvement in Brazil ends, the 62-year-old could begin his tenure as late as mid-July with his squad having yet to be strengthened in what has been identified by the club as a crucial summer of rebuilding.
