Journalist Tom Barclay expects Alex McCarthy to sign a new contract at Southampton in the coming months.

The 31-year-old has spent the last five years at St Mary's, but his future at the club is unclear at the moment.

What is McCarthy's contract situation?

The 6 foot 4 shot-stopper has not signed a new contract at Southampton since 2018, and his current deal is set to expire next summer.

However, he has established himself as the side's undisputed No. 1 this season, and has made over 120 appearances in all competitions since joining from Crystal Palace in 2016.

With his contract up in just eight months' time, Barclay thinks Southampton will want to tie McCarthy down to a new deal shortly.

What has Barclay said about McCarthy?

Southampton have been guilty in the past of allowing some of their star names to run down their contracts. Danny Ings and Jannik Vestergaard were both into their final year of their deals when they were sold to Aston Villa and Leicester, respectively, in the summer.

Barclay feels the Saints will want to avoid this happening again, and has tipped them to prioritise sorting contract situations with more urgency moving forwards. He believes part of this process will be ensuring that McCarthy does not leave the club as a free agent in 2022.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT about Southampton's contract policy, Barclay said: “I think a lot of that is down to the length of time left on the deals. Alex McCarthy, probably expecting that one to happen with his contract being up in the summer.”

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Should Southampton be looking to keep McCarthy?

As things stand, Southampton could face a tricky predicament with their goalkeepers next summer.

Both McCarthy and Fraser Forster are out of contract at the end of the season, meaning they could walk away from the South Coast club in June.

The team may want to bring in a new goalkeeper to freshen things up, but they can't afford to lose two experienced shot-stoppers at the same time.

It seems that it could come down to keeping hold of either McCarthy or Forster, and given that McCarthy is a couple of years younger and is the man in possession of the gloves at the moment, it makes more sense for him to stay, leaving Forster to look for opportunities elsewhere. 

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