Fraser Forster is on the verge of completing his move to Saints after undergoing a medical with the club.

Saints have agreed a fee with Celtic, believed to be about £10m, and after today’s 1-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen, manager Ronald Koeman confirmed a deal was close.

“Of course we are interested, of course he did the medical tests, but for yesterday afternoon I have not spoken to the board and maybe when I go up for a drink they will tell me that,” said Koeman.

“For sure we are interested but I didn’t hear he has signed.”

Koeman also confirmed reports that Saints have had a bid rejected for Leeds right back Sam Byram, rumoured to be in the region of £4.5m.

However, he is not sure whether the club will increase their offer or move on.

“We are after that, we lost Chambers to Arsenal, it was a player we had on the list and it’s true that we had a bid for him, yes,” confirmed Koeman.

“What I heard was that Leeds didn’t accept it.”

Koeman was also satisfied with his side’s display in their final friendly of the summer, despite defeat.

“In general yes, it was a good match on a good level against a good Champions League opponent, Leverkusen,” he reflected.

“I think we didn’t deserve to lose and the goal they scored was very lucky for them and very unlucky for us.

“I think in the first 45 minutes we had the better chances to score but in some moments in the match we have to know that we have to play quicker, that we have to be more aggressive and the last 15-20 per cent in a good way prepared for the next week.”