Pied and Gardos free to negotiate Saints exits
Southampton pair Jeremy Pied and Florin Gardos are free to negotiate their exits from St Mary’s, according to the Daily Echo.
The duo will see both of their respective contracts expire at the end of the season, meaning that they are allowed to discuss a move elsewhere ahead of the summer transfer window.
Pied joined Saints only in 2016 having signed on a free transfer following his release at OGC Nice. He has played as a second fiddle to starting right-back Cedric Soares during his short stint on the south coast but has often proven to be a sound back-up for the Portugal international. Pied’s situation could, of course, change is he is offered a new deal at Saints, but this doesn’t seem like a pressing concern for the club at this stage.
Gardos has had a more complex tenure on the south coast. He joined in 2014 for a fee of £6m from Romanian giants Steaua Bucharest but after a good start in a Saints shirt was plagued by injuries.
The experienced defender is now hugely out of favour with Saints and it comes as no surprise to see him being shown the exit door.