JACK Stephens appearance on the bench for Southampton appears to have signalled to Swindon Town they should move on to other targets.

Stephens’ impressive loan spell and the arrival of teammate Jordan Turnbull had made it seem a formality that the former Plymouth youngster would be coming back to the County Ground.

Southampton’s seemingly endless fire sale of stars and crucially a lack of replacement for Dejan Lovren means Saints are probably unwilling to let Stephens go for fear of an injury crisis.

With the deal having been on the cards all summer Mark Cooper indicated he might be re-adjusting his sights.

Asked for an update on the situation Cooper said: “There’s a few managers getting a bit jittery. Now we obviously start looking at other targets don’t we?

“We have other targets and we are pursuing them because if he’s going to be on the bench for the first team are we realistically going to get him? I don’t know.”

Whilst this does not spell a categorical end to the Stephens deal it does suggest patience with the move is wearing thin.

Cooper also revealed that no decision had yet been made on whether the club would be extending Josh Lelan’s work experience loan deal beyond this Saturday’s home game with Crewe.