CLAUDE Puel will give his biggest hint yet as to how Saints will line up on the opening day of the Premier League season in just 15 days time when they face FC Groningen tomorrow.

Puel hopes to have near enough a complete squad to choose from when Saint finish their tour of Holland with a trip to the Euroborg, where they were victorious 3-0 last pre-season under Ronald Koeman.

While Portugal duo Jose Fonte and Cedric Soares remain on an extended leave after their Euro 2016 triumph, the four-man contingent of internationals that also played at the tournament in France are expected to finally get some match time.

Shane Long, Steven Davis, Fraser Forster and Ryan Bertrand all returned for the Dutch excursion after missing the club’s trip to Baltimore, but have since been left out of friendly victories over PEC Zwolle and FC Twente.

There was hope they’d be ready for the Twente win, but Puel decided against risking any of them with the aim of finally blooding them against Groningen.

The Saints medical and management team have been cautious in bringing the quartet back to match action after reporting back for training just nine days ago – and made a call to rest them in the 2-1 win against Twente.

With tomorrow the fourth game of Saints’ pre-season schedule, and with just two weeks before the beginning of the Premier League season, time is pressing on and Puel will want to select his a team as near to his best as possible.

It is becoming increasingly important for Puel to finalise tactical plans ahead of the big kick off against Watford two weeks tomorrow.

And now finally Puel will – aside from Fonte, Cedric and the injured Florin Gardos – get his hands on the majority of his senior squad for the Groningen friendly.

The Frenchman has been forced to deploy many of the club’s youth during pre-season so far, but that is likely to all change against Ernest Faber’s side.

It'll be a subject of curiosity over whether he'll use the 4-3-3 formation that featured in the 4-0 win over and Zwolle and DC United 2-0 victory or continue to bed in the 4-4-2 system, with a diamond midfield, that was deployed against Twente.

Last pre-season Fonte, Sadio Mane and Graziano Pelle were on target against Groningen in an impressive 3-0 win.

Meanwhile, Saints are reportedly in talks with Crystal Palace goalkeeper Alex McCarthy over a potential move to St Mary’s.

There have been reports over the last 48 hours of a move for the 26-year-old coming out from Selhurst Park, which are thought to have some substance to them, with McCarthy fitting the bill as a back-up for Fraser Forster.

The departure of Maarten Stekelenburg after his season-long loan spell and Kelvin Davis’ retirement has left Saints short in Dave Watson’s goalkeeping department, so the club are acting to bolster their numbers.

Saints feel they need experienced cover for England international Forster, with Paulo Gazzaniga the only senior alternative for Claude Puel at this stage – although youngster Harry Lewis has been utilised during pre-season.

Saints investigated the possibility of signing West Ham’s Republic of Ireland international keeper Darren Randolph, but have now apparently turned their attentions to McCarthy.

The former Reading goalkeeper joined Palace last summer for a fee of around £3.5 m following a season at QPR.

He was restricted to just seven appearances last season, having been displaced by Wayne Hennessey as first choice after starting the first six game of the Premier League campaign.

Palace have since signed Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, leaving McCarthy surplus to requirements, with Alan Pardew also having Julian Speroni and Hennessey to pick from.

It has opened the door for Saints to bring in a capable alternative to Forster, with Palace’s assistant manager Keith Millen stating “he would be a good acquisition for someone”.

Millen said recently: “He's a great lad and a great professional. He hasn't had the game time he's probably been expecting, but in pre-season he's been fine.

“He's fully fit, he's looked good in the games, so we'll wait and see if something does happen.”

Daily Echo: