Southampton are unlikely to secure the deadline day signing of Bournemouth forward Josh King, with the 29-year-old content to run down his contract and leave on a free transfer in the summer, according to The Sun.
The Saints have reportedly held talks with the Cherries over the prospect of King making the move to St Mary’s in a swap move which would see Shane Long potentially head in the other direction on a loan deal with an option to buy. That would see Bournemouth willing to accept a smaller transfer fee for the forward, who is entering the final few months of his current deal.
It had been suggested by Bournemouth manager Jason Tindall that King would remain with the Championship club until the end of the season. However, according to talkSPORT’s Alex Crook on Twitter, a lot of negotiation would be needed today for a King-Long swap move to come off, while Bournemouth are now willing to accept a much lower fee for the Norwegian, which could bring other suitors into the equation.
This latest update from The Sun’s transfer news live section suggests that Southampton are now set to miss out on King, who is prepared to honour the rest of his current contract and then assess his options as a free agent in the summer.
Read Southampton verdict
This is a disappointing update and suggests that the Saints have not been able to convince King to make the move to St Mary’s. The hope will likely be that he can work hard during the rest of the season and then have more options open to him in the summer when he will be a free agent and can potentially negotiate a higher salary with no transfer fee involved.
King would have been an excellent addition for the Saints, but if his heart was not in the move, then maybe it is best that this one is avoided. Southampton still have a few hours to potentially try and move on to other targets, but some may question why they waited so long to make this move and have now been left frustrated.
