Southampton have said no to Leeds United three times this summer. Now Fulham want in too, and their opening approach still falls short of what Saints are demanding for Shea Charles.
The Daily Mail reported this week that Fulham are preparing a written bid worth £24 million. That number sounds significant until it sits next to Southampton's asking price of £25 million plus add-ons, a figure the club has held firm on through every previous approach.
On a fan forum reply under the story, one fan waved the report away entirely, writing, "I don't think I would trust anything that the Mail says. Didn't we already turn down an offer from Leeds for this amount?"
Another fan sounded resigned rather than relieved, calling a Charles departure "a major loss" and describing him as a player who "always seems to have time, even in tight situations." Scepticism about the report and dread about losing him run through that thread in equal measure. Nobody posting there wants to see Charles go for £24 million.
Why fans are right to be nervous
Charles has given supporters plenty of reasons to want him around. Saints Marching covered his wonder strike against Oxford in March, a shot from 35 yards that curled in off the crossbar and sent St Mary's wild. That goal followed a stoppage time winner at Leicester and an equaliser at Anfield against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup.
Each strike settled a different kind of game. Southampton supporters do not forget players who show up on the biggest occasions, and Charles has done exactly that more than once this season.
What Southampton have actually done about it
The club has matched the mood with its actions rather than just its words. Saints Marching reported that Southampton called it a boost when Leeds turned their attention elsewhere after two rejected bids, treating Charles staying as good news rather than a problem still to solve. Charles himself told the Belfast Telegraph in June that he was "focused on Southampton and the next campaign."
FotMob rates him 7.16 across 31 Championship appearances this season. He has added three goals and two assists in 2,093 minutes on the pitch.
Transfermarkt values him at around £12.8 million, well under the £25 million Southampton want, a gap that shows how highly the club rates where his career is heading. Selling him for cheaper than that, with no like-for-like replacement lined up, would undo work the club has clearly gone out of its way to protect.
This piece backs the fan majority. Southampton have already shown that Fulham's opening number is not enough, and everything Saints Marching has reported this summer points to a club trying to keep Charles rather than cash in on the cheap.
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