Don Goodman admits that Southampton must decide their finances while taking the important Shea Charles decision.
Let's be honest, all Southampton fans were gutted after realizing West Ham's interest in Shea Charles. That emotional reaction was understandable, but in truth, the Shea Charles saga is only just beginning again.
Agreed that the St. Mary's faithful have been longing to see their rising star back at home, but Southampton must decide cautiously on Charles' future now.
That's because being an exceptional talent, the 21-year-old midfielder is a potent source of remarkable transfer fee for the Saints. And his recent West Ham offer is one of the many to arrive for him this summer.
Well, who better to summarize Southampton's situation again than Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman? And similar to how he had presented the irresistible Tyler Dibling question, here's Goodman with his verdict on Shea Charles' saga.
Recently, speaking to the Football League World, the pundit mentioned: “I think keeping him would be a huge benefit for Will Still, but then on the other hand it’s a club that needs to decide how it wants to juggle it’s finances and how ambitious it wants to be, and we’ll learn a lot this summer from who Southampton retain and who they let go, as to how they see their future.”
Southampton tipped to carefully reconsider departing Shea Charles
Notably, this dilemma just deepens upon realizing the latest twist in Mateus Fernandes and Tyler Dibling's departure stories.
Given Southampton's response to the £30m Mateus offer, it's clear they won't let him go for anything less than double this amount. Now, not to discredit the Portuguese, but hardly any European club will be willing to splash this fee for him, enhancing his chances to remain at Southampton.
Similar is true for Dibling's case, who's tipped to land at max a £30m-£35m deal, impacting Southampton's overall dream to make this transfer window a splendid one like the 2023/24 summer.
Sadly, that all just builds up tension on a potential Shea Charles' departure, who may easily add a hefty fee to the Saints' transfer fund.
Simply put, the fans find themselves torn between keeping either Mateus Fernandes or Shea Charles and sacrificing the other. But it's a brutal call, that will not be easy at all.