' Jose Fonte Bid Rejected '

Friday 04th July 2014.

Saints are reported to have rejected an offer from Cardiff for centre half Jose Fonte.

The Portuguese defender has just one year remaining on his current Saints contract, making him an attractive target for other sides who sense they can get a bargain if they are prepared to offer the 30-year-old an attractive long term deal.

Cardiff, who are bracing themselves for offers for central defender Steven Caulker, with whom Saints have been linked, have reportedly made the first move for Fonte.


However, their offer has apparently been flat out rejected by Saints.

Whether the player would be willing to drop down to the Championship anyway is unclear, but he did move from the second tier of English football down to League One when he joined Saints from Crystal Palace for £1.2m in January 2010.

With Rickie Lambert, Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana having already departed St Mary’s this summer, the club are desperately trying to avoid losing their top talent.

Dejan Lovren’s departure following a transfer request seems almost inevitable if somebody is prepared to break the £20m mark for a player signed for £8.5m last summer.

Liverpool, who have already raided Saints for Lambert and Lallana this summer, are very keen on him and have made two unsuccessful bids, both of which are believed to be less than £20m.


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With rumours also swirling about the future of Morgan Schneiderlin, Saints and new boss Ronald Koeman will be desperate to avoid what could start to seem like an exodus of top talent from St Mary’s.

However, Saints have left themselves somewhat vulnerable to an offer for Fonte by allowing his contract to run down so far.

There is an argument though that even if the player indicated he did not wish to sign a new deal, in the current circumstances, he may be worth more to keep for a season than the fee Saints receive, though that same logic could have applied to Lambert.

Though it was a dream move for the striker to go to Liverpool, and the fee was not a terrible one considering his age, Saints still ended up with only £4m and a bit of goodwill to show for one of their best and most influential players.


according to SSN

Sky Sports News ‏@SkySportsNews

Sky sources: Southampton reject bid from Cardiff for defender Jose Fonte #SSN

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be a good signing , cant see him dropping to the championship though

be a good signing , cant see him dropping to the championship though

we've got no chance of signing him!

Southampton have rejected a bid from Cardiff City for centre-back Jose Fonte, according to Sky sources.

Saints also rejected a bid from Liverpool for Fonte’s defensive partner Dejan Lovren on Friday as new boss Ronald Koeman attempts to end the summer exodus from St Mary’s.

Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert have departed for Liverpool, and Manchester United have bought left-back Luke Shaw.

Saints - who also lost their coach Mauricio Pochettino to Tottenham - therefore have around £60 million in the bank and no need to sell any of their remaining stars.

Executive director Les Reed reiterating that stance following the £27million plus add-ons sale of Shaw.

"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.

"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."

Lovren and Fonte formed a fine partnership in the heart of the Saints defence last season.

Fonte joined the club from Crystal Palace in 2010 for a fee reportedly in the region of £800,000 and has since made 173 league and cup appearances for Saints.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/9371951/transfer-news-southampton-reject-a-bid-from-cardiff-city-for-centre-back-jose-fonte

No smoke without fire?

... And there's no fire without the Daily Echo.

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/11322184._/?

Not a chance, had a great season for Southampton.

Not a chance, had a great season for Southampton.

I agree he would be a quality signing though but as I said above I cant see him dropping down a level after playing most of the season for Southampton

Didnt he start nearly every game last season in a very good southampton team, even with only 12 months left on his contract cant see why he would drop down to us. You never now we might double his wages

Didnt he start nearly every game last season in a very good southampton team, even with only 12 months left on his contract cant see why he would drop down to us. You never now we might double his wages

Can't blame ogs for trying,

He had Hull chasing after him if earlier reports are true so I can't see him coming to us unless we're paying silly money.


So yeah he'll probably come to us...

Didnt he start nearly every game last season in a very good southampton team, even with only 12 months left on his contract cant see why he would drop down to us. You never now we might double his wages

Can't blame ogs for trying,

Agree worth a try but very unlikey

Another smokescreen maybe?? Ole doing some serious business and seems to be getting who he wants.

Audacious bid! Impressive if it comes off.