Billy Sharp is set to learn whether he has a Saints future when he has his first sit down talks with Mauricio Pochettino next month.

There has been a clamour from Saints fans to see a return to St Mary’s for the 27-year-old striker, who spent the majority of last season out on loan at Nottingham Forest.

Whether Pochettino agrees will be revealed to Sharp in a face-to-face meeting due to take place in just under a fortnight.

Sharp only joined Saints in January 2012, a £1.8m signing from Doncaster, and won hero status by firing nine goals in 15 appearances that helped Saints to automatic promotion to the Premier League.

However, his star didn’t stay as high with Nigel Adkins.

Sharp featured in the first two top flight games of the season as a sub and scored in a League Cup tie before being sent out on loan for the remainder of the campaign ahead of the transfer window closing.

Though Saints have secured Premier League survival without Sharp, there has been a feeling that he might have provided more effective cover for Rickie Lambert.

The big striker was the only Saints player to feature in every Premier League game this season, but there were few other options with Jay Rodriguez flourishing in a slightly more withdrawn role and Emmanuel Mayuka failing to provide any significant competition for Lambert’s place.

In the meantime Sharp was again proving himself an adept lower league goalscorer as he bagged ten goals in 12 starts and six sub appearances during his spell at Forest.

It is understood that Forest boss Billy Davies is keen to bring Sharp back to the City Ground next season as he attempts a promotion tilt.

However, what remains unclear is whether Sharp has any future at Saints.

On the face of it that would seem unlikely, given that things continue to move forward at a rapid rate at Saints.

Pochettino is set for something of an overhaul of his Saints squad this summer and Sharp is a player who can attract a reasonable fee.

A Saints return for the striker would be a popular but surprising move, whereas a decision to either sell or, if the fee they require cannot be achieved, to loan out again, seem the most likely option as there will be no shortage of takers for his services in the lower divisions.