Saints are set to stand firm over Liverpool’s pursuit of Nathaniel Clyne.

The Anfield club are keen to sign the England right back this summer, but have indicated that they are currently unwilling to match Saints’ valuation of the 24-year-old, believed to be around £15m.

Liverpool have already had a £10m offer rejected by Saints, and are keen to seal a deal, but are believed to want to try and negotiate a price in between their initial bid and the £15m valuation.

The Reds perhaps feel they are in a strong bargaining position given that Clyne has just one year left to run on his current contract.

Other expected interest in Clyne, with Manchester United having been heavily linked, has also yet to produce any other offers, leaving a move to Liverpool or staying at Saints the options currently available.

Clyne has yet to formally reject the Saints offer, and the deal, though unsigned, remains on the table.

Saints will sell Clyne if the player does turn down the offer and makes it clear he wants to leave, but it appears a firm decision has yet to be made, and as such Saints will stand firm over their valuation.

They also know that Liverpool need a new right back this summer, and Clyne is their first choice option for that position.

Saints may well feel that Liverpool are unlikely to want to miss out on a top target, and one whose £15m price tag is a suppressed market value anyway because of his contract situation, for the sake of a comparatively small amount in the world of football transfers.

Saints also know that Liverpool could have plenty of money to spend in a few weeks, with reports suggesting Manchester City will table an acceptable offer, in the region of £50m, for Raheem Sterling. The expectation is that if that happens Sterling will be sold and the money reinvested.

Though Saints officially start pre-season training next week, Clyne has been given extra time off having been involved in international fixtures until last weekend.

It could be that with all those factors in mind the situation could be a little drawn out.

Saints have already covered themselves for the potential departure of Clyne by signing Cedric Soares for an initial £3.5m.

They would though be perfectly happy to have the two challenging each other for the right back position next season.

It was a role where Saints had little cover in the last campaign, having to move players from other roles to cover when Clyne was unavailable.

The prospect of having two international quality right backs vying for the role is obviously far more appealing from a Saints point of view.