According to reports in The Times, Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino is eyeing a third January signing as he still wants to bring a centre-back to the club before the January transfer window slams shut on Wednesday.
What’s the word, then?
Well, Saints have already strengthened in attack with the club-record addition of Guido Carrillo from Monaco last week, while Pellegrino is also looking to tie up a big-money move for Spartak Moscow forward Quincy Promes.
It seemed as though Carrillo and a forward like the Netherlands international were going to be the only arrivals at St Mary’s this month despite the £75m departure of Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool at the start of the month, however it appears that a central defender is also on the list, according to The Times.
The south coast outfit were loosely linked with Swansea City defender Alfie Mawson earlier in January, and while the Welsh club would be unlikely to sell him to a direct relegation rival, they would also demand a huge fee for the 24-year-old.
Do Southampton need a new centre-back?
When you lose a player as good as Van Dijk is from your team, it would seem like a no-brainer to replace him.
While Wesley Hoedt, Maya Yoshida and Jack Stephens – who scored his first goal for the club in the 1-0 win against Watford in the fourth round of the FA Cup at St Mary’s on Saturday – have done well, the latter duo in particular have struggled from an aerial point of view against the likes of Harry Kane, Christian Benteke and Laurent Depoitre in recent weeks.
Saints certainly look to be missing that dominant centre-half, and it will be interesting to see if they make any progress on a deal before the close of play on Wednesday.
Who could they target?
Saints are more likely to look abroad rather than the Premier League you would think given most of their recent transfer business, and Christopher Jullien of Toulouse and Salif Sane at Hannover 96 would certainly be two players that would fit the mould of what the south coast outfit are looking for, given that their expertise is in winning aerial duels.
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