According to reports in the Daily Echo, Southampton and Ajax are in talks over a deal for midfielder Dusan Tadic, which is worth €17.1m (around £15m) according to Dutch media outlet De Telegraaf.

What's the word, then?

Well, the Daily Echo says that Dutch media had reported that a move for the Serbia international was imminent, which has shocked Saints fans on Twitter, however they say that talks are ongoing and that a transfer is still some way from being concluded.

The Daily Echo report that negotiations are likely to be finalised in the end with the 29-year-old wanting a return to the Netherlands following four years in England with Saints, and while the fee of around £15m has been mooted, the south coast outfit are likely to try and get as much as they can for the Serbia international seeing as he still has two years left on his contract at St Mary's.

Southampton's club-record offer for James Maddison earlier this week suggested that Mark Hughes is anticipating the exit of Tadic and is looking for a central attacking midfielder to replace him.

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How did Tadic do during the 2017/18 campaign?

It was a tough campaign for Southampton and the Serbian, who scored six goals and provided a further three assists in 36 Premier League appearances as Saints narrowly avoided dropping into the Championship following four successive top-eight finishes.

Three of those six goals came in the final six top flight fixtures as he stepped up when his club needed him to, and while he has 24 goals and 35 assists in 162 games for the south coast outfit, he hasn't been as effective in general over the course of the previous two seasons as he was in his first two years at St Mary's.

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Are Southampton right to sell him?

In a word, no.

While Tadic wasn't at his best last season, he is still the club's most creative player and one of their biggest goal threats on the pitch, and to let him go for around £15m considering they only just nearly suffered relegation would surely be a huge mistake.

Vice-chairman Les Reed has made some poor calls in recent years by giving former boss Mauricio Pellegrino more time than he should have as well as splashing out a club-record fee for Guido Carrillo during the January transfer window, but selling a key player in Tadic when they could go all out to keep him would be his worst error in years.