Saints have refused to rule out ditching Dani Osvaldo before the transfer window closes on Friday night.

The Italian striker is currently serving a two week club suspension after allegedly headbutting teammate Jose Fonte.

The Daily Echo understands that the current attitude towards Osvaldo from his colleagues will make it very tough for him to make an instant return to the first team after serving his ban.

As a result Saints may look to offload Osvaldo, probably back to Italy, before the end of the week.

Saints are not likely to want to take a big cut on the initial fee of nearly £13m they paid for Osvaldo last August when they tied up a deal with Roma to make the striker their record signing.

At this late notice it would also need a very quick turn of events for a club to tie up a permanent deal.

As such, Saints may seek to loan him out for the remainder of the campaign.

That gives both parties plenty of breathing space, and with Osvaldo set to lead the line for Italy in this summer’s World Cup could even increase his value if he does well.

With Mauricio Pochettino handing over press duties to assistant Jesus Perez for cup matches, it was up to the assistant manager to field the questions on Osvaldo after the Yeovil FA Cup win.

There wasn’t much Perez could say about the situation but he didn’t close the door on a possible move for Osvaldo.

“Let me comment only on the statement that the club made after the situation. I can’t talk anything more about this situation,” he said.

“We will see in the next days what happens.

“The statement was clear and nothing more is coming from me.”

He added: “The transfer market is still open until the next week so it’s not my responsibility to talk abou. We will see in the next days what will happen.”

If Saints do opt to offload Osvaldo then they might seek to recruit another striker.

The Daily Echo understands that before his departure Nicola Cortese had been very close to agreeing a deal to sell Rickie Lambert to West Ham.

However, that now looks well and truly off the table with Lambert the club’s main striking option in the absence of Osvaldo.

Though the likes of Jay Rodriguez and Guly do Prado can play there, they are viewed by Pochettino as more effective in deeper roles.

That leaves only 18-year-old Sam Gallagher as a rival for Lambert.

As such, if Osvaldo will not be reintegrated into the dressing room, Saints are likely to have to abandon their plans not to sign anybody this month and bring in another front man.

When asked whether he would bet on any transfer activity at St Mary’s before the end of the week, Perez smiled: “I don’t like to bet.”