Shaw has spent much of the last month linked with a £27m move to United, but Saints have dug their heels in on valuations for the teenage sensation and playmaker Adam Lallana, insisting they are under no obligation to sell top players as they focus energies on the search for a new manager.
Saints are desperate to make sure the progress made under Mauricio Pochettino is not lost completely and believe Hernandez could help them to stay on track, after reluctantly allowing Rickie Lambert to join Liverpool in a £4.5m deal earlier this week.
Hernandez spent most of the past campaign warming the bench at Old Trafford despite injuries to Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Danny Welbeck at different points of the campaign, leading both Inter Milan and Valencia to consider a summer swoop.
The 26-year-old is waiting to see if he has a future at United under new manager Louis van Gaal, with Saints added to the list of clubs monitoring that situation closely as they plan for life without Lambert, and if a part-exchange deal through Shaw too.
Both men are currently concentrating on representing their respective nations at this summer’s World Cup, but while they prepare Saints and United continue to plan for next season and Hernandez is now firmly on the agenda in future talks over Shaw’s future.
Written by Steve Milne
