Saints are set to rake in almost £50m in the space of a few days as star players Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana leave the club.

Shaw’s long awaited transfer to Manchester United has been confirmed for a fee believed to be £27m with add-ons that could take it to £31m.

Lallana’s switch to Liverpool is in advanced stages and is most likely to be announced on Monday.

The Saints skipper has undergone a medical at Liverpool and a fee of around £25m has been agreed between the clubs, with Bournemouth set to receive £6.25m for their 25 per cent sell-on clause inserted into the deal which took Lallana to Saints as a 12-year-old. Saints will bank around £18.25m but with the potential for that to increase with add-ons.

Saints fans had braced themselves for worst, with the Daily Echo having revealed some weeks ago that both Shaw and Lallana had told the club they wished to leave this summer.

But it means the team that did so well last season, achieving an eighth placed Premier League finish, have now lost Rickie Lambert, Shaw, Lallana and manager Mauricio Pochettino. Dejan Lovren is expected to follow them out of the St Mary’s exit door after handing in a formal transfer request.

The biggest relief for the club’s supporters will be the stabilising effect of new boss Ronald Koeman, who reports for duty at the new look Staplewood training ground at the beginning of next week as some of the squad return for pre-season training.

The Daily Echo understands the Dutch manager is already trying to pull together potential signings.

With so many star players departing, and potentially more yet to leave, Koeman will certainly need to hit the ground running to have a fit and firing squad ready for the big kick-off at Anfield.

Shaw’s move is not only the most money Saints have ever received for a player, but also makes him the most expensive teenager in world football history.

The 18-year-old has signed a four-year contract at Old Trafford with the option of a further year.

Saints’ executive director, Les Reed, who is overseeing football matters, and who said before the end of last season that he was confident of keeping the squad and the manager together, again stressed that all the money raised will be reinvested into the squad.

“While we are sad to see Luke depart the club, we fought to ensure that we got the right deal for a player in whom we have invested a great deal of work over the past decade,” he said in an official club statement.

“Luke joined us at the age of eight, and our academy staff and coaches have helped him to progress into a top-class player. He will leave our club and carry forward our top-class pedigree, as others have done before.

“This deal is a good one for Southampton Football Club, and hopefully sends a clear message to other clubs wishing to bid for our players.

“Luke’s transfer fee will be reinvested into the team as our new manager, Ronald Koeman, builds for the new season and for years to come.”

Saints chief executive, Gareth Rogers, added: “Luke's world-record transfer to Manchester United is yet another endorsement of the great work undertaken at our academy and by the staff at Southampton Football Club. “We can now move forward and continue to invest in the future of our club.”