Does Koeman See Writing On Wall After Fonte Signs With Super Agent Mendes

Sunday, 6th Sep 2015 09:51 Saints have been buying central defenders this summer and if rumour is correct they will add another before Xmas, is this forward planning ? It cannot be denied that Saints have a plethora of central defenders on the books at present, Jose Fonte, Yoshida, Florin Gardos were joined by Stephen Caulker on loan and the permanent signing of Virgil Van Dijk. The latest rumour from Holland is that Ron Vlaar is a done deal and the Dutch central defender will join Saints when he is nearing fitness which could be around the end of October. That would leave Saints with six central defenders as well as Cuco Martina who can also play in this position, it could be said that Gardos is out for the season, but Saints are too top heavy in this position already even before Vlaar does or soes not arrive. But an interesting piece in the Daily Mail about Super Agent Jorge Mendes this weekend by Neil Ashton contained a couple of lines right at the end that may shed light on why Ronald Koeman is stocking up in the centre of his defence. Now Neil Aston is no friend of Southampton Football Club, he is firmly in the camp of former Chairman Nicola Cortese and was one of a couple of members of the press who were pumping out all the propoganda about how Cortese was revolutionising football a couple of summers ago. This stopped abruptly when Cortese was deposed and from the minute Cortese left Ashton saw it as his duty to put out as many de stablising rumours as he could about Saints, so the first thing we have to consider is that his tacking on a story about Jose Fonte in an article about Mendes that is more about Real Madrid, De Gea and other superstars could be nothing more than Ashton throwing another bit of mud about Saints. But to give Jose Fonte the last paragraph in a two page article on an agent whose big clients are the likes of De Gea, Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodriguez and Angel Di Maria to name a few is bizarre to say the least. Ashton states that Fonte ditched his agent Artur Fernandes in the summer and signed with Mendes and Aston's final words on Mendes in the article are "Fonte remains at St Mary's angling for a new contract to put him in line with the club's top earners or waiting for a move to a top club at the end of the season. Now that he is working with Mendes that day will come" The inference s clear, Fonte has joined the Mendes stable for one last big pay day whether it be from Saints or another club. But how much of his magic will Jorge Mendes be able to work for Fonte, the Portugese central defender will be 32 in December, he is not an attractive option to big clubs due to his age, if he were 4 years younger his form for Saints would certainly have made him a target for a so called bigger club, although it would have been the likes of Liverpool and Spurs not one of last years top four, but at 32 he will not find it easy to better what he has at Saints. There is also the fact that Mendes appears to have a lot on his plate and his failure to get the De Gea deal to Real Madrid over the line has sullied his reputation a little, also with os many clients he has to prioritise and he wont have such a hands on relationship with Fonte as he has with the likes of De Gea and Ronaldo, the people who really pay the big bucks for him in earnings, to be blunt Jose Fonte is going to be chicken feed compared to them. But is Ronald Koeman a step ahead of the situation, Koeman will be aware of Mendes and the way he does business and when a 31 year old central defender signs with that type of agent Koeman will see the warning signs ahead and it looks like he has prepared for it, not just that at 32 Fonte has not long left as first choice, even if Fonte hd not signed with Mendes it would have been a foolish manager who did not plan for the eventual day that his form started to dip and there arent that many central defenders that are at the top of their game past 33/34. So what will january hold for Jose Fonte, he is currently in a contract that ends in the summer of 2017, so I see only two options. 1. Saints increase Fonte's earnings, now this isn't clear cut as it would first seem, because although they might be prepared to offer him better wages now, they are unlikely to want to extend the contract in terms of years by much at those high wages. 2. Sell Fonte now to the highest bidder, if Vlaar does arrive this would perhaps suggest that this is the option that Saints would prefer, in certain respects they are in a now lose situation in that they have Fonte tied in till what will effectively be the end of his peak period, logically as with any central defender his powers will start to wane as he passes 32, this is not a dig at Fonte just a fact of life in football. So selling Fonte could be an attractive option to Saints, Saints work to a strategy in terms of transfers and that strategy says that when a player reaches a certain age you start to plan his replacement, when you receive more than he is worth then you sell him, that moment might come in January. But I see only one club who would be interested and that is Liverpool, Brendon Rodgers has failed to sort out the centre of defence and if he hasnt been sacked by January he might consider Fonte as a short term fixalthough it won't be a cheap one and that could be the problem as in the main Liverpool run a transfer strategy that is like Saints in that they do not like to buy players that are too old for a sell on value, they made an exception with Rickie Lambert and that will put them off. Other than the Merseyside club I cant see any one else interested that would give Fonte a move to a bigger club than Saints and indeed one that would pay more and even Spurs would not consider this a good deal other than stirring us up again. That wont please some people, but f we take cold hard facts it makes sense if Saints were to have Caulker, Van Dijk & Vlaar at the club. There is of course the third option and that is Fonte remains at Saints on his existing deal till 2017, from the club's point of view this would be ideal as they would get the best of Fonte now and then not be burdened by high wages in two years time if his form has dipped and he is no longer a first choice player in the side. Whatever happens Fonte has not signed with Jorge Mendes for fun, he has signed to try and fet what is best for Jose Fonte both as a player and financially, this spells storm clouds for Saints, but on the face of it they have already prepared for the storm whatever way it should go. Photo: Action Images



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thedelldays added 10:18 - Sep 6

we have signed 1 central defender. that is it -2

legod7 added 10:56 - Sep 6

Btw who says the Vlaar is a done deal ? We have only 4 centre backs this season. This is a normal situation for most clubs. Caulker is only on loan (to cover for Gardos ) . Fonte has probably signed with Mendes ( if it true ) to get one last big pay rise. At the end of the season he will have one year left on his contract and that is when he will be in a strong position to renegotiate. It is now up to Saints to either give him a new deal now or wait until the end of the season. If he decides to leave then Caulker NOT Vlaar would be the ideal replacement -1

1970 added 11:28 - Sep 6

Vlaar may train with us while he is searching for a club he is a friend of Koemans there is nothing wrong with that, you said Gardos is out for the season and we know we cant play Yosh in most of the prem games because of his concentration problem and caulker doesn't belong to us, I think we would have signed Vlaar if we had qualified for Europa and that's the reason we didn't we were shocking at the back, a fit Vlaar is a half decent CB,and on a free, sign him up, I bet liverhampton will come along at the end of the season and offer us 15 mill and fonte a 4 year deal lol thank god we have a feeder club coyr 1

SaintBrock added 11:41 - Sep 6

This is the case of 2 = 2 =17 Nick, what on earth are you rambling on about? Jose is our Captain and should be getting a better than average salary for all the extra responsibility, in fact he is more likely to become our next Club Captain when Kelvin hangs up his gloves and concentrates on backroom tasks, probably even as early as at the end of this season.



The only issue for Mendes or any other agent is to make sure Jose is offered a 2 or 3 year contract rather than a derisory one year that often is a club's response to ageing defenders. The club are not daft and will not insult him as he is still at the top of his game and is a very good leader on the field. Personally I can see Jose still being at the races for another 3 years. When Kelvin quits Jose is Mr Saints! 3

IWOZTHERE added 12:34 - Sep 6

With SaintBrock on this. Like Kelvin Davis he's a figurehead for us, a club man and a figure of stability, good with PR as well. He should be treated well. Having said that, I thought he was on his way out a couple of years ago. I was certainly proved wrong as he's since then been the mainstay of our defence and I'm sure we'll get more out of him assuming Van Dijk has the speed and mobility he needs alongside him. Can't blame him if he does angle for a big 'payday' but with or without Vlaar I think we will have enough quality in defence to cope, once they've bedded in. Another loyal model pro...Good Luck to him! 1

halftimeorange added 13:40 - Sep 6

It's only my personal view but I think that Jose, excellent servant to Saints that he has been, is showing signs of having reached the top of his footballing mountain and is beginning his descent on the other side. We will see after a few more games. If he's realised it then it would make sense for him to engage an agent to get him a good deal in his valedictory playing period. I don't see that being at Saints. More likely in the Championship with a club striving for promotion. Either way, good luck to him. 0

LesVivian added 18:15 - Sep 6

Fonte has played out of his skin since we were promoted. I, for one, thought he would struggle in the Premier League, but he has brought the best out of himself, and Lovren, and TA over the last couple of seasons. He can't go on for ever - he is at the top of his game now, and is just beginning to look a little fragile. However, if he can get a good CB to partner him, he could probably raise his game and develop a good partnership. One of his strengths is recognising the strengths and weaknesses of his partner, and adapting his game to suit. If he is the 'main man', he is going to struggle! 0

forest_saint added 21:55 - Sep 6

Who is it who writes this crap? 0

BoondockSaint added 23:13 - Sep 6

He's just looking out for his best interests as the club looks out for it's best interests.

If he moves, I wish him all the best and hope that when he hangs up his boots, he returns as a coach/ambassador.



Does Little Nicci have Kneel A$$Tongue on contract?



(Sorry, couldn't help it! If it's inappropriate, let me know and please delete it.) 0

Jesus_02 added 09:13 - Sep 7

"Now Neil Aston is no friend of Southampton Football Club, he is firmly in the camp of former Chairman Nicola Cortese "



Sorry Nick you need to be reminded that you and Southampton Football Club are two different entities here. Aside from the obvious car parking issues, without Cortese there would be no Liebherr and without them we could be looking at a similar fate to Coventry rather than the JPT followed by successive years of promotion.



RE Fonte, He has signed for a good agent, if you are going to have an agent it seems like a sensible thing to do. My guess is that he is likely to play out his contract and finish his career in Portugal, but it is just a guess.

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DEVONIANSAINT added 20:51 - Sep 7

I hope RoKo is also looking to provide a route from the academy in the GB positions.We have Stephens AND Turnbull getting first team games out on loan so hopefully they can come in andpick up some first team experience next year rather than havingolder and slower back up like Vlaar. 0

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