Billy Sharp has promised to fight for his place at Saints.

The striker has not been given a squad number for the new season and does not currently form part of manager Mauricio Pochettino's first-team plans.

But Sharp, who was not part of this summer's pre-season tour, insists he wants to prove his worth at St Mary's.

Writing on Twitter, he said: "Hearing lots of rumours on here about me,like I've said before 2 years left on Southampton contract an I will continue to fight for my place"

Sharp, who spent last season on loan at Nottingham Forest, was yesterday linked with a temporary switch to Sheffield Wednesday.

He has also reportedly been the subject of interest from a number of other clubs, including Doncaster and Bournemouth.

Sharp continued: "If another club comes in for me in the meantime I will assess the situation.like I've said before hear it from the horses mouth"

Agent James Featherstone, of Omni Sports Management, was yesterday quoted talking about Sharp's future.

But the 27-year-old forward has since insisted that Featherstone does not represent him.

“For Billy, going to Southampton was his opportunity to play for a Premier League club,” Featherstone told the Press Association.

“While that hasn’t happened in terms of getting out on the pitch, now that he has experienced being in the Premier League, if you like, then I certainly think it will form a big part of Billy’s decision was he to go elsewhere from Southampton.

“Billy is a good goalscorer and a lot of teams in the Premier League and Championship are short of goals, so, as you can imagine, there have been enquiries.”

Featherstone added: “I think Southampton are probably holding out to see if there are any more enquiries that come in that are more suitable, as, at this stage, that [a loan deal] is not in their interest."