How much money Crystal Palace or Fulham must pay Southampton to sign Shea Charles | OneFootball

The Northern Irish international has attracted plenty of Premier League interest

Southampton's second successive year as a Championship club has now got underway in terms of pre-season training, but it is fair to say that there is still plenty of uncertainty surrounding the South Coast outfit at this moment in time.

It has been well-documented that Saints are still being left to feel the repercussions of the Spygate scandal which dominated headlines throughout last season's Championship play-off campaign, after Tonda Eckert was initially able to generate such a strong run of results at St Mary's following his appointment last December.

After admitting to three counts of 'spying', Southampton were expelled from the play-off final and replaced by eventual Wembley losers, Middlesbrough, and will now begin the current campaign on a four-point deduction as a result.

Despite such a punishment being handed out by the governing body, many would still expect Saints to be able to compete for the play-off positions throughout the upcoming 10 months if they can immediately wipe out the deduction by earning two victories, although it is still yet to be seen whether Eckert will take charge of the season opener against Watford on August 16th, with the FA still reportedly locked in discussions with the German through their own investigation into the matter.

Transfer speculation has also been rife on the outgoings front, with the trio of Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Leo Scienza and Shea Charles attracting significant interest.

And, with that said, a new update has now emerged on the future of the Northern Ireland international midfielder.

How much money Southampton are demanding for Shea Charles as Crystal Palace and Fulham rival Leeds United

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Charles has seen his stock rise rapidly in the past year or so in Hampshire, after previously impressing on loan in the Championship with Sheffield Wednesday under former Saints assistant coach, Danny Rohl.

The 22-year-old initially signed for Southampton under Russell Martin three summers ago for a deal which could have reportedly risen as high as £15m from then-Premier League champions, Manchester City.

However, under Will Still and the aforementioned Eckert, the highly-rated midfielder burst into life this season on the goalscoring front, netting six times in all competitions, including a famous winner against Arsenal in the FA Cup quarter-final on April 4th, as well as a stunning strike against Middlesbrough in the play-off semi-final second leg, which ultimately came to no avail as a result of Spygate.

The 35-time international has since been the subject of increasingly strong transfer interest, with Leeds United seeing two bids turned down for his services in the opening month of the summer window.

It has been widely reported that the Whites were unsuccessful with bids marked at £20m and £23m respectively, and now talkSPORT have revealed that Southampton are holding out for a £30m sum of cash as Fulham and Crystal Palace become the two latest clubs to enter this particular transfer battle.

Both London outfits are under new management heading into next season too, with Pierre Sage and Alvaro Arbeloa taking charge at Selhurst Park and Craven Cottage respectively, whilst the Eagles have a season in the UEFA Europa League to also prepare for after ending Oliver Glasner's tenure with a UEFA Conference League triumph over Rayo Vallecano.

Southampton's latest Shea Charles valuation isn't the greatest of surprises

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With several clubs now interested in Charles' signature, it shouldn't come as the greatest of surprises that Southampton appear to have raised the price-tag on his shoulders, especially when factoring in his future ceiling.

Many Southampton fans were already resigned to the likelihood of losing their prized asset after promotion was secured, and now if one of the three aforementioned sides, or another potential suitor enters the fray, it will continue to feel like a question of 'when', rather than 'if', their midfield maestro exits St Mary's.

However, with several other key names attracting interest, while the club is still in receipt of parachute payments, there is a strong chance whoever takes charge this season will have a strong sum of cash to work with when it comes to overseeing a reshuffle of the squad, while also ensuring it is in the best possible condition to compete for promotion once more.