Ex-Saints boss Alan Pardew is rumoured to be lining up a £5million bid for Saints skipper Adam Lallana.

Newcastle boss Pardew, who left St Mary’s in 2010, has long been an admirer of Saints’ talismanic captain and is said to be lining up a bid in the January transfer window, according to reports in the national press.

The 23-year-old Lallana only put pen to paper on a new four-year contract last year and has been one of Saints’ stand-out performers so far in their first season back in the top flight.