£40k-a-week Southampton FC star wants to leave St Mary's - New club enter race to sign him | OneFootball

The Saints should expect a mass exodus this summer following their relegation.

Yukinari Sugawara is a player of interest to Turkish Süper Lig side Besiktas amid reports that he's set his sights on a move away from Southampton.

It'll come as no shock to anyone that a lot of players could leave St Mary's this summer. In the summer transfer window that followed the last time that they were relegated to the Championship, they were the highest-selling club in the division, in terms of money made, as per Kieran Maguire.

Now a lot of the Saints' best current assets are being scouted by teams who are looking to get a cheap deal out of them. West Ham United have already been linked with four of the club's players by talkSPORT - Tyler Dibling, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Aaron Ramsdale and Kyle Walker-Peters.

Now a new link for a move away from the club has emerged, and it's another defender that could be on the move.

Besiktas interested in Yukinari Sugarawa

Sugarawa, who is estimated to earn £40k-a-week at St Mary's, has caught the eye of Besiktas, according to Turkish outlet Fotospor. The Japanese international, 24, was only signed by Southampton last summer from Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar for £6 million. He's started 15 Premier League games for the club this season, but he now reportedly wants a move away from the south coast of England.

Besiktas are expected to start talks for the 24-year-old soon, as per Fotospor, with €5 million (~ £4.3 million) thought to be a figure that will be high enough to secure the right-back's services.

He has come off the bench for Southampton in their last two matches - a 3-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur which confirmed their relegation, and a 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa.

All that the Saints have left to play for this season is not becoming the worst Premier League side of all time. They need one point from their final six games to tie Derby County's current record total of 11 points.

Southampton should try to break even on Sugawara

The Saints are going to need to spend this summer in order to rebuild a side that is capable of challenging for promotion, although they have found out the hard way this season that achieving this goal doesn't always lead to the best of things.

They're likely to make a lot of sales this summer which will boost their bank balance quite a bit, but they will have to be mindful of the Profit and Sustainability rules that they have to abide by. They can't make too big a loss on the players that they sell, and the same goes for Sugawara.