Southampton set to cover Shaw exit with Kolodziejczak swoop

Southampton have already identified a replacement for in-demand teenage sensation Luke Shaw, and will move for former France Under-20 international Timothee Kolodziejczak, should the club cash in on their prized asset.

All top Premier League teams are tracking left back Shaw, so the former Lyon man looks a bargain to fill his shoes at St Mary’s, as the tabloids quote him as rated at around £6m.

The figure the Saints should get for Shaw is expected to be several times that. Kolodziejczak has a Polish father and a French mother, so is eligible to represent either nation at senior international level.

Current club Nice are set for a mid-table finish in Ligue 1, and need one more point to mathematically confirm their status in France’s top-flight.

Kolodziejczak would be a versatile addition to Southampton, because he also played at centre half and on the left wing.

In other Saints news, the south coast club are bracing themselves for a bid from Arsenal, 10/1 with Coral to win next season’s Premier League, for French holding midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin.

According to reports that surfaced online, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger will spend £40m this summer. Up to £12m of that could be budgeted for the tough-tackling Schneiderlin, who has impressed across two Premier League seasons at St Mary’s.

Other names on the Arsenal shopping list are rumoured to be Manchester City defender Micah Richards, who sees no way past Pablo Zabaleta in his favoured right back berth at the Etihad, and Swansea striker Wilfried Bony.

Wenger is understood to have been hugely impressed by Ivory Coast international Bony’s maiden campaign in England, where he has scored 25 goals in all competitions.

There is interest in powerful defender Richards because Bacary Sagna is out of contract at the Emirates this summer. He has been holding out for more than a one-year deal, but that would go against the Gunners’ policy when it comes to contracts for players aged 30 and over.