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Adam Blackmore column: Southampton determined to get fair return for top players

New Southampton manager Russell Martin has described all the transfer rumours swirling around St Mary's as "noise".

But there is no doubt the signing period for a club like Saints is something that can't end quick enough.

It's bad enough for the clubs who aren't in the top five or six in the country that the window closes four weeks after the season starts.

But it is especially bad when you are a relegated Premier League team and the vultures are circling to pick the best meat from your carcass.

We all know that Southampton's top players may well be back in the top flight of English football at least a year before the club and there's been a calm level of acceptance of that from the manager and the hierarchy, which has made it easier for fans to stomach.