Southampton cannot afford to lose this vital star after selling Shea Charles

Shea Charles is now officially a Premier League player.

There had been rumblings all transfer window long that Charles was going to depart Southampton this summer, with the Northern Irishman sticking out as an exciting player on the South Coast, but he didn't end up moving to Leeds United who had been circling for him all window long.

Instead, Fulham coughed up the cash necessary to win the ex-Manchester City youngster, with £30m the amount needed to finally whir a deal into motion.

That hefty price-tag makes Charles the most expensive Northern Irish footballer in history, as the Saints now try to bat away suitors for this other prized asset, instead of selling up.

The next Saints star linked with a move away

Despite selling Charles, Southampton have a stacked first team squad at this current point in time.

Indeed, Eckert still has Leo Scienza at his disposal, despite Premier League clubs previously looking at him.

On top of that, he has a perfect fix to Charles being sold in Caspar Jander, when he's fit, as the German sensation is being tipped for big things, so much so that he's even being talked about as a potential German call-up by Jurgen Klopp.

There is also Taylor Harwood-Bellis who the South Coast outfit will be desperate to keep a firm grip on, as he has been in the heart of their defence for many a season now.

However, they could be about to enter into a Charles-like tussle to keep him grounded at St. Mary's, with journalist Sacha Tavioleri revealing on Tuesday evening that Portuguese giants Benfica are keen on landing the Saints mainstay.

The Belgian journalist has revealed that contact has been made by The Eagles to snap up Harwood-Bellis this summer, with Marco Silva's side willing to spend around £17m on his services.

This £17m figure will feel like an insult to Eckert and Co, having just got a whopping £30m out of Silva's ex-employers for their former number 24, with Southampton needing to stand firm to keep Harwood-Bellis, as his exit would be far more obvious than Charles'.

Southampton cannot afford to sell him as well

If Eckert had to list figures in his Saints camp that were guaranteed first-teamers, Harwood-Bellis' name would surely be sat near the top.

He was everpresent last season, and for good reason, as he collected nine goal contributions from 43 appearances as a cool customer defensively.

He also has a bite present in his game that means he knows how to fight when games are tense in the gruelling league, with a valiant 5.7 duels won on average last season in the Championshp.

As Saints-based content creator Martin Sanders put it, when Tavioleri's bombshell transfer revelation first came to light, Harwood-Bellis is "one of if not the best centre backs in the Championship" and losing him would be a "massive setback."

Harwood-Bellis' Championship numbers with the Saints:

Indeed, if you remove the 6-foot-2 colossus from the first team picture, you are left with the likes of an unconvincing Nathan Wood as back-up, alongside the inexperienced duo of Joshua Quarshie and Joachim Kaya Sanda.

Losing him would be an almighty gut punch, that's for sure.

Whereas, losing Charles, while it does hurt, isn't as big as a blow, as Eckert has the aforementioned Jander at his disposal, next to the trusty Flynn Downes and a maturing Cameron Bragg.

It would have to take some significant cash - more than the £30m banked for the sale of the notable Northern Irishman - for Southampton to even consider parting ways.

If you're in the Saints' position now, you do just brush away this interest from the 38-time Liga Portugal champions, irrespective of their distinguished status, as the South Coast club cannot afford to lose both Charles and their dependable number six in quick succession if they want to be in the automatic promotion fight.

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