As Liverpool prepare to battle it out with Chelsea for the signing of Remeo Lavia, the Saints sporting director Jason Wilcox insists he won’t be sold on the cheap.
“I think when a club makes an offer, very rarely is it their full and final offer. If we get the right offer we will consider it,” he said. “Consider is an important word because we don’t have to sell, we’ve got a lot of asset value and it’s about how we rebuild the squad.
“There will be players that start the season for us but leave later in the window and it’s real tricky for the manager and players to deal with, for their families and agents as well. When there is transparency and honesty you can work through it.
“Every Championship club that has been relegated from the Premier League has this transition. If a club wants to take our players on the cheap and we feel as though we’re losing then that’s not a win-win agreement — there has to be a compromise.
“There will be situations where we say to players ‘I’m really sorry but the value is not there, you’re going to be with us in the Championship and have to generate your Premier League value’.
“I’ve got an idea of what the squad may look like but I’ve done six versions of that. If you could see my laptop now you’d see six versions of how the squad may look.”
