Sourced from Daily Echo article
Is this the start of another Saints summer rollercoaster?
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WELCOME to another closed season circus at Southampton Football Club.
What would this time of year be without the usual transfer speculation whirlwind and talk of managerial change?
It just wouldn’t be the same, would it?
And now there’s a brand new act in town which is helping to provide more twists and turns than an acrobat’s display.
To throw in to the already heavy cocktail of Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Bertrand exit rumours and the constant talk over Claude Puel’s future, there’s now, swinging from the trapeze, the takeover talk.
As if Saints supporters hadn’t already had enough of end of season drama and, as they often label it somewhat ironically on social media, the summer meltdown.
Alas, it is, once again it seems, time for us all to buckle up and ride the St Mary’s rollercoaster all the way through the summer months.
This week things have already started to busy up, to put it very mildly - and it’s only early June!
By Monday we’d already been churned through the grinder with speculation over Van Dijk.
If reports by the Liverpool-linked press were to be believed, then the talismanic defender fancied working under Jurgen Klopp at Anfield and was keen to make the move.
Oh, jolly good, that’s goodbye to Van Dijk then.
By Tuesday, another twist. Saints have had no bids for the Dutchman and, as has previously been said, are adamant that they are in the driving seat with regards to his future. Oh, good, van Dijk stays then.
By Tuesday afternoon, Saints have asked the Premier League to investigate what they believe is an illegal approach from Liverpool for the 25-year-old central defender. A firm stance from Saints, then.
St Mary’s bosses were understood to be seething after a raft of stories from Liverpool connected journalists appeared at the same time on Monday stating that Van Dijk wanted a move to Anfield.
The club’s hierarchy then met to discuss what to do, and took the dramatic measure of reporting the matter to the Premier League.
The circus, by Tuesday, have already wheeled out the lion tamer and, are now, just about to unleash the fire breather.
After the furore of the Van Dijk stuff, Saints legend Matt Le Tissier, in the brief interval between it all, spoke about Liverpool’s approach in trying to clinch the services of one of the club’s prized assets through the press.
“As a Saints fan sometimes it makes me very angry the way the media behave,” he said, “the way certain people behind the scenes try to unsettle the players who have got five years left on their contract.
“It’s disappointing that there’s such a lack of respect for the football club when these teams play in the same league, they’re in the same group.
“They should have a little bit more respect for each other’s football clubs and before you start unsettling a player, get a bid accepted by the club that owns him.
“Once you’ve done that everyone can move along quite happily.”
Just a matter of hours after Le Tissier uttered those words to the Daily Echo, Liverpool dropped a statement of unbelievable content.
It was a humiliating climb-down for them. Not only did they apologise for “any misunderstanding regarding Virgil van Dijk”, but they also confirmed that they’d dropped all interest in the player.
In a statement, the Anfield club said: “Liverpool FC would like to put on record our regret over recent media speculation regarding Southampton FC and player transfers between the two clubs.
“We apologise to the owner, board of directors and fans of Southampton for any misunderstanding regarding Virgil van Dijk.
“We respect Southampton’s position and can confirm we have ended any interest in the player.”
The mushroom cloud from this bombshell had not even fully formed when our attentions were once again dragged on to another of the circus’ regular performers: the big change of manager debate.
Reports filtered out from national newspapers that Claude Puel was soon to be sacked.
This instantly reignited the discussions over whether or not the Frenchman will remain in charge for very much longer.
It is understood Puel’s position at Saints remains precarious with the club currently looking at potential replacements before making a decision on the 55-year-old.
The situation remains the same, with the club considering their options as things stand.
That was Thursday’s topic of discussion. Surely there’s nothing more to come?
Well, lo and behold, that was not the case.
Once again, the speculation engine coughed and choked into action as Ryan Bertrand was, once again, linked with Manchester City.
It is understood, however, that no bid is on the table for Bertrand and any talk is just gossip at this stage, with City said to be targeting Monaco’s Benjamin Mendy as their first choice option.
Well, here comes another healthy dollop.
It was Thursday night and, after a brief period of quiet on this particular front, the Chinese takeover talk reared its head once more.
The potential deal involving Lander Holdings and Saints owner Katharina Liebherr was the hot topic as Friday rolled around.
A deal remains in the pipeline but it is understood not to be imminent.
Representatives of Liebherr and Lander Holdings held meetings with the Premier League to discuss the deal and they were followed by investigations by the league in to the suitability of Lander chief executive Gao Jisheng.
It has now been reported that the Premier League has concluded its probe and Gao has passed its owners and directors fit and proper persons test, while other areas of the structure of the deal have been approved.
This summer has already had it all - and it’s only early June!
Just a week in the Southampton Football Club circus.
What will next week bring?
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