It looks as if Southampton has a losing battle on its hands this summer to keep Shea Charles situated at St. Mary's.
Indeed, reports have filtered through in the last few days that Leeds United are very keen on landing the standout Northern Irishman, with a bid of £20m put forward by the Whites to try and win the ex-Manchester City starlet.
Talks are ongoing, with Tonda Eckert's side wanting more than the £20m allegedly put on the table, and for good reason, as Charles could become a classy Premier League performer for Daniel Farke and Co. in no time.
Charles deserves a Premier League chance
The Daily Mail has previously reported that Southampton values the in-demand 22-year-old more around the £30m range, which could put some clubs off pursuing his signature.
After all, Charles has only ever won himself one Premier League appearance, which came about when he was still on the Etihad books.
Since being chucked by the Manchester giants, Charles has had to carve out his career in the EFL, and off the back of a sublime 2025/26 season on a personal level - even as the Saints fell out of the playoffs due to Spygate - he is very deserving of a shot at a top-flight giant.
Leeds would love to welcome the Manchester-born sensation to their squad, as he could offer them another goal threat in the midfield ranks, alongside Anton Stach, with several last-minute winners coming his way last season, including that memorable strike which knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup.
Moreover, with three impressive campaigns now under his belt in the second tier, with a loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday key for his development, the next natural step for the 22-year-old is to test himself in the demanding Premier League.
Unfortunately, it looks as if it won't arrive with the South Coast club, with the promotion near-miss of last campaign still a painful memory.
But, nobody can bemoan Charles the opportunity to want to test himself in a higher up league, having won a valiant 4.7 duels on average last season as a figure who should thrive in his new challenging terrain, as a stylish, yet combative presence.
The Saints will just be driving a hard bargain, so they don't just give away one of their star performers on the cheap.
Southampton will want more for Charles
At the end of the day, if the Northern Ireland international goes on to be a rip-roaring success story at Elland Road almost instantly, he will surpass that £20m price-tag pretty quickly.
Southampton have been here before when offloading some of their promising personnel, so they're no fools, with the Saints able to get £59m out of Chelsea for the sale of Romeo Lavia in 2023, who coincidentally climbed up the same ranks as Charles, having started in the Man City youth picture.
It would be absurd to expect Charles to go for the same extortionate amount, but holding out for an additional £10m is a wise play, as there has been glimmers in his game to justify that lavish valuation.
Dragan Solak might well have come in recent times to suggest a mass exodus of sales isn't needed, but if Charles is dead set on making it in the Premier League sooner rather than later, a deal to let him go to Elland Road will be arranged, just on Southampton's terms, with a £30m bid from the West Yorkshire outfit more likely to seal a move.
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