SAINTS fans have urged Adam Lallana and Saints to negotiate a new deal for the star midfielder.

Speculation has been heightened with regards to a potential move as Lallana’s current contract is due to expire at the end of the season, as reported in yesterday’s Echo.

But Saints fans remain confident an extension will be sorted – and believe St Mary’s is still the right place for Lallana.

Premier League clubs are rumoured to be interested in the 22-year-old, with Birmingham apparently weighing up a £3m bid.

Basingstoke Saints chairman Nick Kemp said: “It would be good for him to stay with us and keep improving, because he’s fantastic.

“He’s a long way from the finished article yet, but he’s the sort of player we need to keep if we want to get out of this division.

“We saw how we lacked in the creative department when he was out injured.

“It was like signing a new player when he came back.

“He just gives the whole place a lift.

“He’s got a bit of that Le Tissier factor – when the ball comes to his feet you’re out of your seat expecting something from him.

“We’ve got to do everything we can to keep him.

“I remember Alan Pardew saying ‘Do you want to go to the Premiership now and sit on the bench at best, or keep playing week-in, week-out and improving?’ “He’s still got a lot of learning to do and I think he’s better off here as a big fish in a smaller pond.

“He’s got another excellent management set-up in Nigel Adkins and Andy Crosby to learn from and they will keep him level-headed.”

Steve Grant said Lallana should learn from Andrew Surman’s decision to leave Saints for the Premier League.

Surman, who was also an academy product, joined Wolves in the summer of 2009.

But he made just three league starts and four substitute appearances, before dropping down to the Championship in June by signing for Norwich.

“He’s clearly a key player for us in terms of his creativity,”

Grant said of Lallana.

“It’s no coincidence that the five matches he missed through injury were the five that we failed to score in.

“That said, I can understand him taking his time.

“He won’t want to tie himself down to a long-term contract here if we then don’t go up at the end of the season, but I would like to think that he’d stick around for a year or two in the Championship if we do go up.”

Grant, who runs fans’ website saintsweb.co.uk, added: “He only has to look at the ‘progress’ of Andrew Surman since he left us for an example of how it can go pear-shaped, and unlike, say, Gareth Bale, Lallana would have a lot of competition in his position.”

Saints Trust vice chairman Jason McFeat added: “They will sort a contract out.

“He’s holding out to see what happens as regards our chances of promotion.

“If he goes to the Premiership he has to ask himself will he be one of those players that just sits on the bench, like Andrew Surman did?

“He’s making a name for himself at Southampton and, if we get promoted, he could make a name for himself in the Championship. The best place for him at the moment is at Southampton.”