Jack Cork is facing a career defining week as he decides whether to sign another contract at Saints or end his four-year stay at the club.

With his current deal at St Mary’s due to expire at the end of the season, and the offer of an extended stay sitting on the table waiting to be signed, it is crunch time for Cork.

Saints boss Ronald Koeman has told the midfielder he must decide his future by the end of this week.

That would allow Saints to prepare for his departure and potentially even sell him before the close of the transfer window next Monday, in order to maximise his value before he could walk out for free in the summer.

Koeman and Saints supporters are, though, hoping Cork will commit to the club for longer.

At 25-years-old, this is far from the last big contract Cork will sign, but his value as a potential free agent is high.

If an established player leaves a club and is available for free and is sought after – as Cork would be with all but the Premier League’s elite clubs surely interested in him – he can command a huge whack financially.

The absence of a transfer fee often means that players in these positions can be paid a significant signing on fee, perhaps as much as half of what their transfer fee would be – and Cork has been linked with £3m moves in the not too distant past – as well as significant wage increases.

Though top level footballers all earn good money, you wouldn’t be human if the opportunity to sign a contract which sets you and your family up for the rest of all your lives didn’t come into the equation.

However, also to be considered is your life, your future and your footballing happiness.

Cork is a grounded lad who enjoys his life in Southampton with his family, so from that point of view to leave would be an upheaval.

In terms of his footballing happiness, Saints are on the verge of achieving something significant this season.

However, Cork will be asking what future role he plays.

With Morgan Schneiderlin’s future up in the air in the summer, some argue that Cork may naturally progress up the pecking order.

But the player himself will be asking the question as to whether that is the case or, should the French international depart, if Saints would move for an instant replacement. There is also something to be said for feeling wanted.

And that, in truth, is probably what is eating at Cork the most.

Had this contract been offered a year ago, in line with the general Saints policy of renewing the deals of those they really want to retain, then we almost certainly wouldn’t be having this conversation.

Cork would surely happily have signed up.

His position in the team was no different to what it is now, but he would have routinely stayed for all the positives listed previously.

Cork, though, has reason to feel a little irked that he was not offered a deal sooner.

The talk behind the scenes at the club has been of the player audits deciding that Cork might block the pathway for Harrison Reed to come through.

It has taken the arrival and the assessment of Ronald Koeman to change that way of thinking, with the Saints boss wanting to ensure he has an experienced squad together to continue the club’s march forward.

Cork’s gripe will surely not be with Koeman, but a frustration that the club felt like this previously, despite his years of dedicated and committed service.

If anything is dragging him away from Saints it might be these feelings, combined with the financial implications.

A year ago this wouldn’t have been a consideration, but now Cork and his agent are likely to have a string of suitors waving potential deals around.

And suddenly those vast sums of money he could earn very soon might be turning his head.

Saints needn’t have let it get to this stage.

Everybody connected with Saints hope that Cork stays, but that it has come this far means a nervous wait.

While Saints hope for the best, at least it won’t take long to find out one way or another.