SAINTS' next summer arrival after the £10m capture of Nathan Redmond from Norwich City will be a new manager.

Long-term target Redmond signed a five-year deal at St Mary's at the weekend and will be joined by Ronald Koeman's replacement in the coming days.

As reported, Claude Puel remains firm favourite for the manager's job and is said to have impressed the Saints hierarchy with his commitment to young players and experience of European football.

And now after talks the Frenchman is set to take the Saints helm this week and will be greeted by the club's first summer capture, Redmond.

Saints have investigated extensively who their next manager will be and plan to make their appointment before July 4, when many of the players return for pre-season training.

Former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini was a serious contender for a long time, but the club felt he didn't suit what they wanted in their new man. 

Eddie Howe, Vitor Pereira and Rudi Garcia have all attracted interest from Saints, but each of them have subsequently dropped off the club's shortlist.

Puel is understood to have been long admired by the St Mary’s hierarchy, having also been linked with the job in 2014 before Koeman took over from Mauricio Pochettino.

Saints are well aware this is a big appointment for them, with Pochettino and then Koeman taking the team forward to a point whereby they have qualified for European football two seasons in a row.

To take the next step as a club and challenge for the top four, or for some silverware, is not going to be easy and is part of a five-year plan that the new manager will have to lead.

Puel won two league titles during a 17-year playing career at Monaco, the club where he started his managerial career.

He has also managed Lille, Lyon and Nice and has a reputation for developing players and staying at clubs for extended periods of time.