Saints will attempt to ascertain the future of Nathaniel Clyne over the next week-and-a-half.

The England right-back has just one further season remaining on his current contract, and has stalled on signing a new deal that has been offered to him.

Clyne has indicated a willingness to wait before deciding on his future, with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea linked with a move for the man who cost little more than £2m when he joined from tonight’s opponent’s, Crystal Palace.

Saints are obviously keen to establish Clyne’s position, as if they discover he does not want to extend his deal they will almost certainly look to sell him in the summer before he can walk out for nothing.

“No, it’s not really update about that,” said Saints manager Ronald Koeman.

“We are still waiting and the contact is between Les (Reed) and the agent and Clyne, but I think after today it’s a good time to talk about that, because we have a rest, we don’t play next weekend, and, of course, we like to know what his decision is about the future of the club.”

Saints are notorious for their meticulous planning and have already said they want a definitive answer from Clyne in the coming weeks.

They do not want to be left in a position where the situation is allowed to drag on, meaning they risk losing out on moves for a potential replacements should the worse happen.

“I hope (he will stay), but I can understand if there is any interest of other clubs, I don’t know, because we don’t have really a serious bid of Clyne in the club,” reflected Koeman.

“I think he is doing well, he’s an international player.

“It’s not I think the most difficult position. Normally the left back position is more difficult to find good players, but even the right full-back position is not a lot who have played on the level as Clyney has been doing this season.”