According to reports in the Daily Mail, Southampton are set to battle with Premier League rivals Liverpool and Bournemouth for the £6m signing of exciting Eupen forward Henry Onyekuru this summer.
The Nigerian-born attacker has been one of the standout performers in the Belgian Pro League this term, which has meant that scouts from a number of English sides have flooded to watch the 19-year-old in action.
Saints are one of those and they will have been impressed with what they have seen, although they face competition from Liverpool, who they have of course sold a number of players to in recent years.
With Claude Puel’s side set to miss out on qualification for European football next season, the Frenchman will be keen to strengthen his squad at the end of the campaign in order for another push next season.
Here are three reasons Southampton must beat Jurgen Klopp to the 19-year-old…
Potential
After scoring 19 goals in 35 appearances in all competitions for Eupen this season, as well as picking up seven assists, Onyekuru has certainly shown that he has huge potential.
Despite the fact that Eupen were only promoted back to the Belgian Pro League this term, the 19-year-old hasn’t been phased by the step up and that is something that will have impressed the watching scouts, with Southampton especially keen to give young players a chance in the first team.
Striker uncertainty
Even though Manolo Gabbiadini has come in and hit the ground running following his January transfer window move from Napoli, the futures of some of his Saints attacking teammates is far from certain.
Jay Rodriguez and Shane Long have both been linked with moves away from St Mary’s after disappointing seasons, while Sam Gallagher has enjoyed a successful loan spell at Blackburn Rovers and only has a year remaining on his contract.
That could leave Claude Puel short of attacking options next term, meaning signing an attacker could be a priority during the summer.
He could be the new Mane
An African winger who has scored lots of goals in one of Europe’s middle-tier leagues and is a Southampton target? That will certainly bring back memories for Saints fans to when they signed a certain Sadio Mane from Red Bull Salzburg in 2014.
He went on to be a huge hit at St Mary’s and the south coast outfit tripled their money on the Senegal international when they sold him to Liverpool last summer.
They will know that they Onyekuru has the potential to make them another huge profit in the future if they can sign him for £6m.
Do you agree, Saints fans? Let us know below.