It seems that Southampton could miss out on Belgian defender Toby Alderweireld, who is believed to be close to completing a £11.5million move to Tottenham.
However the deal is complicated by the fact the Saints had agreed a fee with the Atletico Madrid, prior to his loan move last season.
The agreement stated that Southampton could sign Alderweireld for a fee of around £6.8million this summer.
Atletico had the chance to cancel the clause by paying a fee of around £1.5million, but have apparently missed the cancellation deadline, which means Alderweireld should be a Southampton player.
However, it seems that the Belgian international prefers a move to north London with Tottenham, so the Saints are now likely to negotiate a compensation figure with the Spanish club, who will earn a bigger profit by selling the defender to Spurs this summer.
The Saints are looking to strengthen their backline after losing right-back Nathaniel Clyne to Liverpool. Boss Ronald Koeman has been busy replacing the England international by bringing in Portuguese full-back Cedric Soares from Sporting Lisbon.
Yesterday the Dutchman increased his defensive options by bringing in Cuco Martina from FC Twente for an undisclosed fee. The 25-year-old is the captain of the Curacao national football team, who are managed by former-Holland international Patrick Kluivert.
Martina can play at right-back, centre-back and in the centre of midfield. He has played his entire career in Holland, playing for the likes of RBC Roosendaal, RKC Waalwijk and started his youth career at Rotterdam giants Feyenoord.
Is Martina an adequate replacement for Nathaniel Clyne?
