RALPH Hasenhuttl admits "it's getting more tough every year to extend contracts with players" as a number of Saints stars head into the final year of their current deals.

Hasenhuttl was speaking after it was announced this week Ryan Bertrand would be leaving the Hampshire club on a free transfer this summer, after he and the club failed to reach an agreement over a new deal.

Saints now have a handful of players whose contracts expire in the summer of 2022, including the likes of Danny Ings and Jannik Vestergaard, with talks ongoing over extending the pair's stays.

Asked if the club would be keen to cash in on players this summer who would not commit to new deals, rather than risk losing them for free like Bertrand in a year's time, Hasenhuttl told the Daily Echo: "I have always said that players that are with us and have one more year of contract, they are our players.

"I think in the moment it is not so easy to find a club where you have a better chance to develop and a better chance to play football than in our club.

"I think this is also something that is not normal or automatically there for players. I think the players that are here really like to be here, they enjoy to be here and as always, it’s getting more tough every year to extend contracts with players because very often not only the players, but mostly the agents are interested in moving the players around.

"This is normal in this market, or it’s become normal in this market. We are not the only club who is struggling with extending contracts with some players, especially when the bigger clubs are calling for them."

He continued: "I think it’s always a good sign of development when they have a chance to go there. The problem is that we paid a lot of money for them and when they go then for free, this is money then you lose, if you want.

"But on the other side, we had their performance for these three or four years they have been here and therefore we have to pay."

Bertrand, now seeking a new club, has not played for Saints since the FA Cup semi-final defeat to Leicester City on April 18 due to a calf problem.

He is again set to miss out for this weekend's visit of Fulham.

And while Bertrand's setback is not thought to be serious, Hasenhuttl says players are playing a dangerous game if they do allow their contracts to run down.

He said: "It is also a risky situation for the player, because when you are a player who has injury problems and suddenly a big injury comes in the last season, it can be over very quickly.

"I think this is also not always a benefit, also a risk they take."