ANDERS SVENSSON could be the first Saints star out the St Mary's door in the transfer window with Leicester interested in a loan move for the Swedish star.

Svensson has attracted plenty of interest from home and abroad after it became known that Saints were prepared to part with the midfielder - although chairman Rupert Lowe would rather a permanent deal be sorted out with a fee of £2m involved.

That might put off the Foxes, who play Saints at St Mary's tomorrow night.

Foxes boss Micky Adams has precious little money to spend and is looking for bargains with Svensson next on their list having lured Nikos Dabizas from Newcastle.

Meanwhile, Saints can sit comfortably for at least couple of weeks with regards to James Beattie's situation with Newcastle set to weigh up their options before making any possible move.

The 25-year-old striker, pictured left, is on the shortlist of Magpies boss Sir Bobby Robson but the North East club are waiting for developments at Leeds before making any firm move.

Robson is chasing a striker to become a long-term replacement for Alan Shearer with Beattie, along with Leeds United's Alan Smith and Celtic's Henrik Larsson, his primary targets.

He has indicated that a move for Larsson may not be possible until the summer with the Swede's contract due to expire then.

But Newcastle are sure to wait until after January 19 to see what happens at Leeds as that is the date by which the Elland Road club need to come up with more cash or face going into administration, meaning a possible sell-off of their biggest assets - like Smith.

Speaking of Larsson, Robson said: "Celtic are in Europe like we are and we could meet them in the UEFA Cup - so we can forget about Larsson until the summer."

Sources close to the Magpies have confirmed that Beattie is an alternative target after an impressive few years at Saints but Lowe insists the player is going nowhere.