Southampton boss Russell Martin looks set to court a highly-rated defender to replace Tino Livramento at St Mary’s Stadium before the transfer window closes, according to reports.
What’s the latest Southampton news?
Saints have slowly edged themselves into the transfer window and are now looking to put the finishing touches to their squad before the close of play following the additions of Shea Charles, Joe Lumley, Ryan Manning and Flynn Downes on loan from West Ham United, as per Transfermarkt.
Big-name departures have also been a feature for Southampton over the course of the last couple of months due to their relegation to the Sky Bet Championship as James Ward-Prowse, Romeo Lavia and Mohammed Salisu – alongside Livramento – have left the South Coast club in favour of seeking a new challenge elsewhere.
Everton were said to be keen on Southampton striker Che Adams; however, talkSPORT claim on X that the Toffees have been unable to agree fee for the Scotland international, stating: “BREAKING: EFC are in talks with Udinese over a move for Brazilian striker Beto. The goal-shy Toffees have also tabled two bids for SaintsFC’s Che Adams, but have so far been unable to agree a deal. – talkSPORT sources understand.”
If Adams were to go, Southampton did have designs on submitting a bid for Swansea City striker Joel Piroe as a potential replacement; nevertheless, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has since reported that the Dutchman is on his way to Leeds United to undergo a medical ahead of a switch to Elland Road.
As per BBC Sport, Swansea City defender Nathan Wood has been the subject of a rejected offer from an unnamed club and Jacks boss Michael Duff has refused to confirm the source of the proposal, as he stated: “I think there’s a bid that got rejected. It’s a sign of having good players. If no-one was bidding for any of the players, we’d be useless. We think we’ve got some good players, Woody’s another one of those.”
Who else could Southampton sign?
According to Football Insider, Southampton have enquired about signing West Ham United defender Ben Johnson as boss Martin seeks to fill the void left by Livramento at right-back.
Johnson has previously rejected a contract extension at the Hammers and features near the top of Southampton’s wanted list for the remainder of the window amid uncertainty over his future at the London Stadium.
The 23-year-old, who was labelled as a “really important” player by West Ham boss David Moyes back in 2021, featured 29 times in all competitions for his current employers last term, registering a solitary assist in the process, as per Transfermarkt.
Compared to his positional peers across Europe’s top five divisions, Johnson has fared well regarding the art of successful aerial duels, winning an average of 1.75 per 90 minutes across the last 365 days, putting him in the 91st percentile for this metric, according to FBRef.
Clearly, Johnson is in need of regular first-team football to keep his career trajectory moving in the right direction and a move to the South Coast may help the London-born defender to realise these aspirations.
