Coca-Cola Divisions: Beattie wants out!

Southampton striker James Beattie has again indicated that he could be ready to quit the South Coast outfit when the transfer window opens in January.

The England hitman has recently made a welcome return for Steve Wigley's Premiership strugglers after injury but how long he will remain at the St Mary's Stadium remains a topic of speculation.

Beattie had looked destined to move to Villa Park in the summer before the deal failed to materialise, but the player predicts it could be a busy New Year when the transfer window opens.

Skysports

I cant see many teams going for him, i dont think he is that good to be honest.

I agree, there will be some clubs in for him but not the top sides like he thinks there will be. Beattie will always get a few goals but is not good enough to make a real impact.

wonder if he will still want out with redknapp coming in. i think he will push them higher and that might help his ambitions as a player. but if he where to leave. they got the tall giant crouch? who would get his place. similar players i think?

I read today that Tottenham are going to go after him and offer Kanoute plus 3 million.....

with the talk of beattie perhaps leaving, nice guy harry comes out and says, hey, i want him to stay

"I just need him to help the club stay up, that's the priority," commented Redknapp.

"He's got a contract here with 18 months to go so there shouldn't be a problem.

"You can't get rid of your best players because that's a recipe for going down.

"You've got to hang on to them. We want to keep Beattie here because he can score goals.

"I've not had a chance to speak to him yet but he's under contract anyway so it's not like he can walk away.

*link aint working*

[Edited on 12/12/04 by rynaldo82]

well..looks like hes had a change of heart. beattie might be sold to allow harry money to bring in his own players

"In an ideal world I'd like to keep Beattie and build a few around him," said Redknapp.

"If I manage to get some players in on loans, I need him to stay.

"But finance is going to be tight. If I have got to buy a couple of players I might have to sell him.

"If it means getting three or four players in for the sake of selling one to make you a better all-round team, that's the way to go.

"We don't want to sell him. He is a good lad and he has a contract here.

"We want to keep him to the end of the season - but we need three or four players."

Yea there is talks of Beattie going to Spurs, Newcastle and somewhere else. I think he will go to Newcastle for sure as they are offering Laurent Robert in exchange plus 5 million. I dunno if Robert would be a good move as he is a arrogant twat just wanting the money. Now one other person that was mentioned is Kieron Dyer so i dunno what will happen there but Redknapp and Souness are real good pals..

Robert? *shudder*

Your assessment of him is right.
Beattie really ain't that great, but he does somehow get the goals. I'm just wondering if he would still get them when he goes to a team with a which is built to work as a team, and not built all around him...

Southampton look set to sell England striker James Beattie following his substitution 16 minutes from time in the goalless draw with Charlton.

Saints new assistant manager Jim Smith, who joined ex-Portsmouth partner Harry Redknapp at St Mary's last week, said: "We want to keep James as long as we can.

"He's a little bit short of match sharpness but you would have to speak to the chairman about the fact that possibly selling someone would give us the ammunition to bring in the three, four or five quality players we require.

"That might have to be the avenue we unfortunately have to go down," added Smith.

Newcastle manager Graeme Souness has been linked with a transfer-window move for the Saints striker.

Sportinglife

Graeme Souness has hinted that he is not interested in bringing Southampton striker James Beattie to Newcastle United.

Beattie has been sporadically linked with a switch to St James' Park with the rumours having started during Sir Bobby Robson's reign on Tyneside.

The England international has been mooted as a long-term replacement for Magpies captain Alan Shearer, who is due to retire at the end of the season.

The future of Beattie at Southampton has been increasingly uncertain, with the burly forward suggesting he is ready to quit St Mary's.

Aston Villa failed with a bid for the former Blackburn man in the summer, while Newcastle have purportedly been waiting in the wings with a bid.

Sportinglife

hehe.

"I have no idea where that came from," said Souness.

"There will be speculation, in Tyneside there is a story and a rumour every day.

"We are hoping to do things when the window opens and hopefully it is more than just one player.

"We are after good players and clubs will not want to sell their good players easily.

"We have been linked with several other people but we are not going to broadcast what we are attempting to do.

"We are attempting to improve our squad and have offers on the table for several players but we will see what pans out in January."

do you think hes saying beattie aint a good player, cos i think beattie played for souness at blackburn and he sold him cos he thought he stinked

well harry is admitting the player will be sold in january

"To be honest there have been a couple of clubs interested," Redknapp told Sky Sports 1.

"I've spoken to James and it looks as though something might happen.

"The only way we will be able to strengthen in the window will be to do so business now and get some money in for James.

"In an ideal world you'd like to keep him and add three of four to him, but its not an ideal world so we might have to do some business to bring in the money to buy three or four to strengthen the team as a whole.

"I'd love to keep him because he's a top goalscorer and we'll miss him."

Well it looks like he will be going for sure. newcastle keep saying they havnt bid for him but the papers keep quoting Souness lol!

Looks like they have another offer involving a couple of players plus 5 million...

do you think redknapp wants him there? just when you look at the west ham days it was kanoute, defoe, di canio, at pompey you had the yak and the other more entertaining strikers

beattie is different from that, do you think its maybe a push so he can get players he wants in

I don't think it is Redknapp. Beattie has wanted to go for ages and he nearly went to Newcastle before. Of course Redknapp would want to keep him ah he is the top scorer at the club..

Southampton have no cash at all, so if they want to strengthen the squad and try to stay up they need a few players so the best way is to sell Beattie...

it will be a hard task for him to bring in players that will do the job, with half the season been played and still prob working out his best side,

the got the giant peter crouch and brett ormerod though, 2 very different players. they need to do something though

i cant see beattie going to newcastle at the moment though, what about villa?

Southampton manager Harry Redknapp hopes to sign five players with the money he will get from selling England striker James Beattie.

Redknapp has already admitted he will reluctantly let Beattie go to fund a campaign to keep Saints in the Premiership.

Aston Villa, Newcastle and Everton are believed to be in a bidding battle and Redknapp has confirmed the offers are "more than decent" by which he means upwards of 6million.

Saints are still without a win under the former Portsmouth chief's management following the 1-0 defeat at Liverpool on Tuesday.

"There is a long way still to go. We are in a relegation battle, it will be a struggle but hopefully we will get out of this," said Redknapp.

"We need to bring a couple of defenders in, a couple of midfield players and maybe even a frontman.

"We have lots of good kids and a great academy, but we've got to make sure we stay in the Premier League this season."

He added: "In an ideal world you would like to keep James Beattie, he is a top goalscorer and we will miss him. But we are not in an ideal world and we have to bring in a few players, it is the only way forward for us."

Sportinglife

i think if a bid comes in, say 5 million. hes look at a million a player, i think he will have to look abroad for the players, in the market here, i cant see any1 being avaiable really at that price