Saints are confident of ending the transfer window with a squad that is stronger and deeper than the one that finished last season, chairman Ralph Krueger has said ahead of the imminent arrival of Saphir Taider.

The Inter Milan midfielder is set to join the club on an initial loan deal on Wednesday, with striker Dani Osvaldo heading in the opposite direction.

Taider, a 22-year-old Algerian international, will represent the fourth signing of the summer at Saints, following Dusan Tadic, Graziano Pelle and Ryan Bertrand into St Mary’s.

Krueger told the Daily Echo: “Saphir is an exciting prospect. He’s multi-dimensional and there’s a lot of opportunity in him.

“He’s at an age that fits in with the Southampton situation at present. I think he’s somebody that we can really bring to another level.”

Krueger also reiterated the club’s stance that Morgan Schneiderlin and Jay Rodriguez would not be sold this summer, despite interest from Tottenham.

He revealed that no action had been taken against Schneiderlin, after he wrote on Twitter that his “amazing” six-year journey at the club had been “destroyed” – a message that came after the board informed him that he would not be allowed to leave.

“To the tweet that went out, I believe everybody is human,” said Krueger.

“It’s the passion of the game, whether it’s from a player or a fan or whatever. We need to understand that’s possible, to just have knee-jerk reactions, so we didn’t take any major issues on that, but we’ve been clear in our communication.”

Krueger confirmed Saints’ transfer business is not done, and added that the club would like to add more players to the first-team squad than they have lost this summer.

He also reaffirmed that the board have a mandate to reinvest all money made from player sales into the squad, whether that be via transfer fees or wages.

“We come from a very thin squad that we would like to evolve into a deeper squad,” he said.

“That’s our goal, by September 1st, that you can look me in the eyes and say ‘When I look at everything, and I take all the emotions out, this is actually a stronger squad, a deeper squad than we had last year.’

“That’s what we’re working on, every single day now. It’s not done, we’re still in that process.”

Krueger added: “I feel confident about it.

"It’s dangerous to promise anything. All I can say is we’re working really hard to have the club in a position where it’s in a healthier position than last year.

“So that would mean we definitely need a few more transfers in, and we’re working hard at that.

“But we’re really excited with what we have been able to already put together, with Bertrand, with Pelle, with Tadic, now with Taider coming in – I think there’s a certain strength coming into the squad too right now.”