Return of the Rumour Mill

With the Gary Breen deal a non starter ( Breen and Strachan don't get on), we are expected to sign the Swedish international Michael Svensson this week. It has been reported that a fee of £2 million has been agreed between Saints and Rennes. After recent remarks from Rupert Lowe, this seems a lot for us. The transfer should finally bring a bit of much needed cover and competition for our centre half positions. While Saints are keeping their usual muted approach, the Troyes president, Daniel Vacelet, has said: "I'm sad Michael is leaving but when a club comes along with a lot of money it's hard to turn it down. We're a club with a small budget and we're happy that he's going to a bigger club - but it's sad that he's going."

Saints are also still interested in Marcus Hedman. Although some reports suggest Coventry are holding out for £4 million, others indicate he could go for £2 million. Hedman would be an excellent signing for us, and would really give Paul Jones some competition. Strachan has made a formal enquiry about Hedman's availability.

Another contender as a new goalkeeper is Walsall's James Walker. Walker is 28 and is hesitant about signing a new deal with the Saddlers. I can't see too much in this one as Walker has been with a lower division club for eight seasons now. While that's not necessarily an indication of his skill, I'd much rather we went for someone with a known international pedigree such as Hedman.