Jay Rodriguez Hopeful Southampton Stars Will Reject Manchester United and Liverpool Calls

Jay Rodriguez hopes the likes of Liverpool target Adam Lallana and Manchester United-bound Luke Shaw are still at Southampton when he returns to the club from injury.

The south coast club have already undergone significant change after manager Mauricio Pochettino stepped down to take over at Tottenham Hotspur, while striker Rickie Lambert has left to join boyhood club Liverpool.

Southampton face an uphill battle in holding onto their other key assets after Luke Shaw reportedly told the club he wants to join United, while Lallana has been tipped to join Lambert at Anfield. Elsewhere, Morgan Schneiderlin has expressed his desire to play for a club competing in the Champions League while Calum Chambers' emergence last season saw him linked with Arsenal

"You don't want to see players going and the team being taken apart," said Rodriguez, who is still unsure of a return date after suffering cruciate ligament damage last season. "You can sometimes never stop it, it is one of those things so I'm trying not to think about it and hopefully we will have everyone at pre-season."

While it was former Saints boss Nigel Adkins that bought Rodriguez from Burnley in 2012, it was under Pochettino's guidance that saw him flourish and earn international recognition. The 24-year-old finished as the club's top scorer with 17 goals last season despite having his campaign ended in April but admits the club must move on following the Argentine's departure.

"Mauricio is a great manager and a great guy and was well respected by the lads," Rodriguez said. "He worked us really hard and we got the good results and finished eighth which we were happy with. Football moves on though so it's one of those things."

Rodriguez was in contention to be in Roy Hodgson's England squad this summer until an anterior cruciate ligament injury ended his season in April.