Southampton are now just three weeks away from beginning their first season in the Championship since 2011-12, yet there are still question marks over a number of first-team players, including both Romeo Lavia and Tino Livramento.
What players are Southampton selling?
With a host of Premier League clubs, it is tough to see how either Lavia or Livramento will still be at St Mary's come the end of the transfer window on September 1.
Perhaps a more pressing matter is that of the future of captain James Ward-Prowse, who continues to be linked with Premier League pair Fulham and West Ham United.
While players of Lavia and Livramento's quality come and go – a stark reality for a team outside of the elite – replacing Ward-Prowse could be even tougher.
That is down not only to the unique set-piece ability he brings to the side, but also his leadership qualities. After spending more than a decade as a regular, the past three of those years as captain, Ward-Prowse would leave a huge void to be filled.
However, it was recently suggested by talkSPORT that former Saints defender Jose Fonte could return to the club this summer, and that now looks an even stronger possibility after Lille president Olivier Letang confirmed the Portuguese is set to leave the Ligue 1 side.
Is Jose Fonte a good option for Southampton?
Fonte made close to 300 appearances for Southampton across a seven-year spell at St Mary's that came to an end in January 2017 when moving to West Ham.
The 50-cap Portugal international spent two-and-a-half years as captain of the Saints, meaning he is a natural ready-made replacement for Ward-Prowse in that regard should he return.
Indeed, he continued to prove a real figurehead when moving to West Ham, with goalkeeper Darren Randolph hailing him as a "leader". "He is loud and vocal and organises well," Randolph added.
Southampton have plenty of quality in their ranks for new manager Russell Martin to call upon, but they do not possess many capable of stepping up and leading in the way of Fonte, who Capology claims is on wages of £28,000 a week at Lille.
Being able to bark out instructions is one thing; having the quality to perform in the Championship at the age of 39 is another. However, Fonte started 30 games for Lille in Ligue 1 last season, suggesting he is more than capable of playing regularly despite his advancing years.
In fact, Fonte ranked in the top 12% of all centre-backs across Europe's top five leagues for passes attempted last season (68.72 per 90), as per FBref, and in the top 11% in terms of pass completion (90%).
That ability to pass the ball out from the back is a huge plus given that is exactly what Martin was after during his time as Swansea City head coach.
In terms of the more defensive metrics, Fonte won two aerial duels per game in Ligue 1 last season, as per WhoScored, which compares to 2.1 for Saints centre-back regular Jan Bednarek in the Premier League.
Fonte's team-high 3.5 clearances per game, meanwhile, was bettered by only three Southampton players who started 10 league matches or more.
While he may not be the colossus he was six years ago, Fonte showed last season he is still capable of doing a job at a high level. That, combined with his leadership qualities, make his arrival on a free transfer a no-brainer.