News summary
Sunday offered little away from the transfer market, though Tonda Eckert did break his silence on the Shea Charles noise. Speaking from the German camp, the head coach said it was "more than clear" that interest existed and that he was happy to keep the midfielder around for now.
The bigger off-pitch cloud has not lifted. Eckert still has until Tuesday to answer three FA charges tied to the Spygate affair that cost Southampton their play-off place in May.
Transfer news
Rento Takaoka is close to leaving. The 19-year-old Japan youth forward has passed a medical ahead of a permanent move to Belgian second division side Patro Eisden Maasmechelen.
The72 reported the move as good as done. He departs without a senior minute for the Saints. His FotMob page shows three goals in 549 minutes.
Southampton have also agreed terms for a full-back, yet the player holds the casting vote. The Saints and West Brom have both struck a deal with Rodez for Nolan Galves.
Galves is a wing-back keen to attack, with seven assists and a 7.04 rating on his FotMob profile last term. He would arrive as depth behind the dependable Mads Roerslev, though West Brom can offer a clearer path to regular football.
Shea Charles is still the summer's loudest name. Southampton have rejected a £24m bid from Fulham and knocked back a Leeds offer worth up to £25m. Their asking price stays closer to £30m.
The midfielder rated 7.16 in the Championship last season, per his FotMob profile. Crystal Palace are circling too.
Up front, the search rolls on. Sky Sports Germany's Florian Plettenberg reports that Eintracht Frankfurt want up to £6.8mfor Noel Futkeu, who scored 19 in Germany's second tier on loan last season.
A cheaper answer may already sit at Staplewood. Nick Oyekunle scored against Eastleigh in pre-season, and Damion Downs, worth backing after a bruising first year, took his chance with a composed finish at Braunschweig.
Southampton opinion
Sunday's thread was a club holding firm. The Charles stand-off is where that counts most, since three clubs have tested the resolve and the £30m line has held.
Saints Marching laid out the stakes around Fulham's approach and called it the bid that could settle his future. It has also drawn a cautionary comparison with big-money exits the club got wrong before.
A sale near £30m would fund the rebuild and open a door in midfield. Cam Bragg forced his way into Eckert's rotation last season, and with Flynn Downes anchoring things the academy man would not be exposed.
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