Southampton star wants to partner Phillips

Established Southampton striker James Beattie has said he's looking forward to the prospective signing of Kevin Phillips.

Sunderland announced this week that they have agreed a fee of £3m for Phillips with Southampton FC, and have given permission for negotiations to open.

Beattie said "Phillips would be a great acquisition for the club. I don’t mind the pressure and he will take some of it off me. He’s a big-name player and I hope that working with him will make me a better player.

However it emerged today that Phillips is not planning to meet with Saints manager Gordon Strachan until the end of this week at the earliest.

And Phillips' agent Phil Smith has already warned Southampton that they shouldn't expect to sign his client on the cheap, saying "They've just got £7million from Wayne Bridge which they weren't expecting - we'll take some of that thank you."