It has become a recurring theme in recent years of Southampton losing high profile names. With Sadio Mane and Ronald Koeman leaving the club in the summer and the likes of Adam Lallana, Mauricio Pochettino, Luke Shaw, Nathaniel Clyne and Dejan Lovren leaving the Saints in recent seasons. However the club do seem to manage to bounce back each time, but now it is case of deja vu as captain Jose Fonte has today handed in a transfer request at the club with his contract due to expire at the end of next season.
Contract Dispute
The 33-year-old Euro 2016 winner has 18 months left on his contract and despite comments from director of Football Les Reed suggesting that a new contract is on the table for the Portuguese international, Fonte has refuted those claims.
"Just to set the record straight I did not reject a new contract. In fact, I have been informed by Southampton that they are not offering me a new contract."
Fonte has formed a formidable partnership at the back with Dutch team-mate Van Dijk and the two have impressed, leading to speculation rising on both their futures. Fonte went into the season following an impressive Euro 2016 campaign where he featured regularly at centre-back and helped Portugal to win the competition.
Another Premier League Move
Fonte's future looks to stay in the Premier League with reports suggesting that both Manchester United and Liverpool are monitoring the situation. Both sides have been less than impressive defensively this season and the experience of Fonte is an attractive trait for sides looking to tighten it up at the back.
However Liverpool will always be linked with players when Southampton is involved and it is unlikely that Klopp would target Fonte and are more intensely linked to team-mate Virgil Van Dijk. Manchester United on the other hand is a more realistic destination for the defender with the club consistently linked with Fonte over the course of last summer's transfer window.
Now with Mourinho having recovered his side's Premier League form a move for Fonte might be on the cards to provide back-up to the likes of Bailly and Jones, but that would mean giving up first team football. On the other hand with Lindelof's move being cancelled by Mourinho it also seems unlikely that they will move for defensive cover in the January window. But Fonte's decision to submit a formal transfer request could change Manchester United's mind.