Saints are looking to loan out Fraser Forster after completing the signing of promising young keeper Angus Gunn.

The arrival of the 22-year-old from Manchester City for an initial £10m has pushed Forster down to third choice in the pecking order behind Gunn and number one Alex McCarthy.

Forster wants to be playing regular first team football, while Saints are understood to be keen to try and shift at least some of the 30-year-old’s wages off their books.

Forster is one of the club’s top earners after signing a new five-year contract last summer.

Whether Saints can find a side prepared to take on that sort of a deal on a temporary basis remains to be seen, but if they can find a move that suits all parties then they will probably still pay a considerable chunk of his salary.

It is a remarkable fate for Forster, who this time last year was the undisputed first choice keeper at St Mary’s.

Ever since his 2014 arrival from Celtic he has been the first name on the teamsheet when fit, and his fantastic return to form after tearing his ACL towards the end of his first season at St Mary’s underlined his potential.

Forster became a regular in the England squad and notched up 124 appearances for Saints over the course of four-and-a-half seasons.

However, that all came to an end in dramatic fashion when Saints capitulated 5-2 at Tottenham on Boxing Day.

There had already been plenty of rumblings of discontent over Forster’s form but Saints had stuck by their main man, who is also a powerful voice in the dressing room.

But a change was made after the Wembley humbling with Alex McCarthy, who had previously been seen purely as Forster’s deputy, stepping into the fray.

His performances in the second half of the campaign saw him crowned the Daily Echo Player of the Season and take over the number one keeper mantle. He also signed a bumper new contract this summer.

Forster was looking at what would be an unsatisfactory situation for him of being the permanent back-up to McCarthy, but the arrival of Gunn has shifted that still further.

Gunn has made clear that he is keen and eager to play, and so would not have agreed to join Saints as third choice.

That leaves Forster and the club in a very difficult situation, with the keeper facing the prospect of potentially struggling to even make the bench, while Saints continue to pay his large contract.

Saints are respectful of Forster’s contribution to the club and so are keen to do the best by him and don’t want him to leave under a cloud.

If a move could be found then it would seem to be in everybody’s best interests for it to happen.