News summary
Caspar Jander will not face Stoke. Eckert told his Friday press conference that the injury needs a few more days, with a midweek return the realistic hope.
Finn Azaz got a blunter answer. Asked if he was in contention, Eckert said no, he will start.
Scienza came through Watford fine. No other injuries.
Nuremberg have handed the Spygate fallout to their lawyers. They want back roughly £860,000.
That money sat in promotion clauses on the Caspar Jander deal. Their sporting director says there is no rush, because the claim is not time barred.
Nuremberg will wait until the window shuts.
Neil Ruddock has questioned why Eckert kept his job at all. Speaking to iGaming, Ruddock said any player with promotion bonuses on the line would be furious about the distraction, and the FA charge against Eckert has still not been resolved.
Transfer news
Aston Villa's opening bid for Taylor Harwood-Bellis, worth up to £18m, was turned down on Thursday. Talks carried on regardless.
Villa are now close to an agreement worth up to £25m. Unai Emery needs a centre-back because Arsenal have taken Ezri Konsa for £55m.
Eckert would not be drawn far on the issue. He called the interest completely normal for a defender of that standard.
Harwood-Bellis played one of his best games at Stoke last January, though the same talk was going on then too. Eckert made sure to bring it up.
He then called him a Southampton player, exactly the same words he used about Shea Charles before the Colchester match kicked off. That line is getting a bit tedious, Tonda!
Moses Sesay has joined Colchester on a season-long loan, leaving Southampton's midfield cupboard very bare.
Stuttgart and RB Leipzig are both said to be keen on Jander, whose sale would trigger a sell-on payment to Nuremberg. Saints paid an initial £10.5m for him last summer.
Matchday
Stoke arrive at three. Southampton sit bottom of the Championship on minus four points, so beating Stoke would still leave them rooted to the bottom.
Eckert went out of his way to praise Mark Robins, whose side have started slowly and have been hurt by injuries.
Seven of the next ten are at home. Eckert called that the moment to push.
Azaz walks straight back into the side most would pick.
Saints Marching opinion
With eleven days of the window left, Southampton have sold more than they have bought. A subreddit thread said as much this week.
Selling Gavin Bazunu or Aaron Ramsdale costs Eckert nothing, because neither has been near a matchday squad this season.
One supporter felt yesterday that anyone panicking about missing out on Anel Ahmedhodzic had never watched him play.
Fans seem resigned to losing Taylor Harwood-Bellis, and many appreciate the importance of selling before they buy. It may be worth remembering that most of Southampton's best work in the transfer window happened very late last summer.
Three points against Stoke would be a good start to what could prove to be the defining nine days of the season off the field.
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