Saints are ready to fend off interest from St Etienne for midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin.

The top flight French side are believed to be preparing a £1m bid to prise the midfielder away from St Mary’s after the 20-year-old’s impressive showing for his country at the recent Toulon U20s tournament.

However, Saints are understood to be prepared to put up a fierce battle to hold on to one of their prized assets.

Schneiderlin has become a first team fixture in the centre of midfield this season after Alan Pardew (right) convinced him to stay soon after becoming Saints boss.

Schneiderlin had reluctantly set his heart on a move away from Saints after being told that League One football in England would not be of a high enough standard for him to be considered internationally.

Saints will argue though that his presence in Toulon this summer, where he scored a goal to help France to third place in the tournament, proves that he can.

Financially Saints are in a position where they are able to rebuff any offer for a player, and Pardew has already admitted that it will take large sums of money to convince him to let his star names depart with £1m far short of Saints’ valuation of Schneiderlin.

Saints paid virtually that sum for him two years ago, a fee which could eventually rise to £1.2m.

The only stumbling block for Saints could be if Schneiderlin himself fancies the move.

• It would be a switch back to his homeland and an immediate ticket to top flight football.

• However, though St Etienne have won the French title ten times in the past, they are hardly one of country’s football powerhouses now, finishing last season one place above the Ligue 1 relegation zone.

• They are managed by former French footballer Christophe Galtier, briefly a right hand man to Alain Perrin in his time at Portsmouth, but interestingly their general manager is Damien Comolli, who some suggest recommended Schneiderlin to Saints in the first place.

• Comolli used to work for Arsenal, where he is credited as being responsible for bringing French-based players such as Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue and Gael Clichy to England.

• He then went on to work for three years as director of football at Tottenham and is believed to have been a contact of former Saints chairman Rupert Lowe.

• Since joining Saints from Strasbourg, Schneiderlin has gone from strength to strength and has caught the eye of many scouts, including at Arsenal, who believe he has the potential to play at the top level thanks to his excellent array of passing.

• After making huge strides under Pardew, the Saints boss, a former midfielder himself, will be hoping Schneiderlin can see he is in the right place to improve as a player and be a champion next season as the club look to move through the divisions.