As revealed on QPR's official website, Ryan Manning and Bright Osayi-Samuel have had options to extend their contracts activated by the club - both players were targets for Southampton in the January transfer window.

What's the word, then?

Well, Football Insider reported that the Saints were plotting a January swoop for Manning with his contract set to expire in the summer, although the R's have now activated an option to extend that by a further year to keep him at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium until the summer of 2021.

The left-back has enjoyed an excellent campaign under Mark Warburton, scoring one goal and registering five assists in 28 Championship starts for the club.

In Osayi-Samuel's case, Southampton were believed to be planning a late-window swoop for the attacker, who has netted five goals while recording four assists for QPR this season - like Manning, he will now be tied to the R's until the summer of 2021.

Protects their value

Football Insider broke both stories revealing that Southampton were interested in Manning and Osayi-Samuel.

In the report regarding Manning, they state that the Saints were eyeing up a deal as they believed they could land the Irishman for a cut-price fee given his contract situation - now, however, that is no longer the case as QPR have protected the value of their asset.

In the Osayi-Samuel report, Football Insider describe the 22-year-old as a 'soon-available' player - obviously, that also is no longer the case as the R's have now tied their asset down for an extra year.

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That is not to say that Southampton can no longer pursue the Championship stars, although if they are still interested in the January targets, they do not have it as easy as they did before QPR activated the clauses in their respective contracts, as their value has now been protected.

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