Southampton latest: Villa close on Harwood-Bellis, Nuremberg legal move, Jander out of Stoke trip | OneFootball

According to Sainstmarching.com, Aston Villa are close to an agreement worth up to £25m for Taylor Harwood-Bellis, while Nuremberg have taken the Spygate fallout to their lawyers seeking roughly £860,000 from Caspar Jander clauses. Jander will not face Stoke, with a midweek return viewed as realistic.

Finn Azaz will start. Scienza came through Watford without issues and there are no other injuries. Moses Sesay has joined Colchester on a season-long loan.

Villa had an opening offer worth up to £18m rejected on Thursday but talks continued. Unai Emery needs a centre-back because Arsenal have taken Ezri Konsa for £55m. Eckert would not be drawn, calling the interest normal for a defender of that level, insisting Harwood-Bellis remains a Southampton player, and referencing his standout display at Stoke last January amid similar speculation.

Nuremberg’s sporting director has said there is no rush because the claim is not time barred. The club plan to wait until the window shuts.

Stuttgart and RB Leipzig are both said to be keen on Jander, whose sale would trigger a sell-on payment to Nuremberg. Southampton paid an initial £10.5m for him last summer.

Stoke arrive at three. Southampton are bottom of the Championship on minus four points, so even a win would leave them there. Seven of the next 10 are at home, which Eckert called the time to push.

With 11 days of the window left, Southampton have sold more than they have bought. Fans seem resigned to losing Harwood-Bellis and many recognise the need to sell before buying, remembering much of last summer’s best work came late.

Source: Sainstmarching.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”