Nathaniel Clyne Signs on Dotted Line for Southampton

Southampton has announced that they have signed former Crystal Palace and England Under-21 defender Nathaniel Clyne to a four-year deal that will run until 2016.

Clyne was out-of-contract with Crystal Palace, but since Clyne is still under 23, Saints will have to pay compensation to Palace. That compensation fee has not been agreed to, and will be settled by an independent tribunal if the teams cannot come to an agreement.

Clyne expressed his feelings about joining Southampton after joining the team's training camp in Switzerland. "As soon as I heard that Southampton were in for me, I was happy and I knew that this was the place where I could try to improve my football, further my career and get a chance to play in the Barclays Premier League," Clyne said in a press release from the club. 

The 21-year-old fullback made 123 appearances for Crystal Palace and has made several appearances for England in the Under-19 and Under-21 teams. Clyne was named to the PFA Championship Team of the Year in 2011-12. His addition means that Southampton now has five members of that team on the current roster as Clyne joins Kelvin Davis, Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez on the squad.

Southampton Manager Nigel Adkins was pleased to have the signing complete. "We're delighted that we can finally announce that we've brought Nathaniel Clyne into the group to help us kick onto the next level," Adkins said in a team press release.

Adkins continued, "For the last three years Nathaniel has been a very attack-minded full-back who bombs on—he's got pace and he's a good one-on-one defender."

Clyne will most likely challenge Frazer Richardson for the starting role at right back as Southampton look to continue to strengthen their defense for their return to the Premiership. 

A potential deal for defender Alexander Buttner of Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem has hit a snag, according to the Southern Daily Echo. The 3 million pound transfer was close to being finalized, but a third party claimed they were owed a percentage of the transfer fee and halted the deal.

Buttner isn't the only Saints transfer to be delayed. Rangers and the Scottish Football Association are still holding up the transfer of midfielder Steven Davis. FIFA is now looking into the matter and have requested information from the Scottish FA as to why Davis and transfers of four other players are being held up, according to Sky Sports via the Fox Sports website.

These delays aren't slowing Southampton down though. Another Sky Sports article has the Saints pursuing Dutch international forward Jeremain Lens of PSV. This would be a bit of a shocker move considering the potential price tag and the glut of capable forwards already on the payroll, although Lens could play in a midfield role.

The Southern Daily Echo also has Southampton looking for a center half, a winger and a goalkeeper that would eventually take the place of 36-year-old club captain Kelvin Davis.