Southampton fans will hope that the longer the transfer window goes on, the more chance there is of captain James Ward-Prowse remaining at the club for at least another season.
However, the more realistic prospect is that a Premier League team makes a bid that satisfies the Saints, who in turn will have to find a replacement – not just in terms of his quality in midfield, but also what he brings as a leader.
Are Southampton interested in signing Matt Grimes?
Grimes has been touted as a possible target for Southampton ever since Russell Martin was lined up to become the Saints' new manager. With Martin finally being appointed last week, those rumours have gathered momentum.
According to The Guardian, Martin is looking to bring Grimes to St Mary's as he is after a leader to guide the club out of the Championship at the first attempt.
Former England U21 international Grimes has two years left to run on his contract at the Liberty Stadium, where he earns £12.5k-per-week, according to Capology.
Is Matt Grimes a good replacement for Ward-Prowse?
Any player coming in for Ward-Prowse will have huge boots to fill, and there are certain aspects that simply cannot be replaced – one of those being the England international's set-piece prowess, with his 17 goals from free-kicks behind only David Beckham's 18 in Premier League history.
Grimes is more of a creator of goals than a goalscorer himself, setting up 0.16 goals per 90 minutes in the Championship last season, as per FBref. By comparison, Ward-Prowse set up 0.11 per 90 in the Premier League.
Ward-Prowse is also someone who likes to cross the ball into the box (6.43 per 90 minutes, compared to 1.41 for Grimes), whereas Grimes is someone who prefers to keep things ticking along (104.3 passes per 90 v 66.2 for Ward-Prowse).
There are plenty of similarities between the pair in terms of their playing styles, though, such as their goal-creating actions per 90 (0.24 for Ward-Prowse, 0.30 for Grimes), blocks (0.80 v 0.73) and even yellow cards received (0.16 v 0.18).
More than any of those metrics, though, it is Grimes' leadership qualities that make him a good fit to replace Ward-Prowse. The 27-year-old was named Swansea City captain in 2019, having finally established himself by that point following a series of loan moves early in his career.
Martin spent two years working with him, meaning he knows exactly what he will be getting should a deal go through.
"He is so important," said Martin in November 2021. "I think he's got the most passes in Britain and Europe, the most accurate passes, the most forward passes.
"He's just a brilliant leader. He's not a shouter, but when he talks, people listen. It's really important we do everything we can to keep him."
The irony of that last statement is that it may well be Martin who plucks Grimes from Swansea in a move that would very much kick-start his Southampton tenure.
Maybe then Southampton supporters will slowly come to terms with the prospect of losing Ward-Prowse.
