News summary
West Ham are the visitors in the League Cup. Monday night's second-round draw handed the Saints a home tie with the relegated Hammers, the reward for Saturday's 2-0 win at Colchester.
Up front, Tonda Eckert has a call to make on Cyle Larin. He has not ruled out starting the striker at Watford on Sunday.
Larin is still being eased back after a summer with Canada. He scored off the bench at Colchester, so the temptation to start him at Vicarage Road is obvious.
One thing has not moved on. The FA found Eckert guilty of three breaches over Spygate back in July, yet almost three weeks on, no sanction has landed.
The ruling may slip toward September, so the head coach carries on as normal.
Transfer news
Shea Charles is closing on his Fulham move after passing a medical on Monday.
Once the paperwork clears, Fulham will pay up to £30m: £26m guaranteed, and a further £4m in add-ons. Southampton have a sell-on clause structured into the deal.
He steps into the gap left by Sasa Lukic. Leeds pushed hard, but both their bids came back rejected before Charles chose Craven Cottage.
The move also writes Charles into the record books as the most expensive Northern Irish player in history.
So where does the cash go? One look at the priorities points to midfield and a right-back among the areas to strengthen.
Charles may not leave alone. Yukinari Sugawara spent last season at Werder Bremen and now has no clear route back into the reckoning.
There is interest from abroad in Samuel Edozie, where Paderborn and FC Copenhagen are keen. A goalkeeper sale would help too, since Aaron Ramsdale and Gavin Bazunu both sit behind Daniel Peretz and George Long.
Saints Marching opinion
Up to £30m for a 22-year-old is strong business, especially for a club serving a points deduction in the Championship. Charles arrived from Manchester City for a fraction of that, so the add-ons and the banked sell-on clause only sweeten it.
The question now is what the Saints do next. Cam Bragg could get more minutes next to Caspar Jander or Flynn Downes, and a five-star academy gives Eckert cover if he waits for the right signing.
There is a caveat. The four-point deduction means every point carries extra weight from Sunday, so losing a player of Charles's quality still stings, even at this price.
The week ahead
It all starts on Sunday. Southampton travel to Watford for a 1:30pm kick-off shown live on Sky Sports.
The West Ham cup tie lands soon after, so Eckert will want his squad settled as soon as possible.
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