According to reports in The Sun earlier this week, Southampton are chasing the signing of Lech Poznan defender Jan Bednarek and have had an offer of £4.5m rejected for the Polish centre-back.

The 21-year-old, who has been featuring for his country at the European Under-21 Championships this month before their elimination was confirmed following a 3-0 defeat to England on Thursday, became a regular fixture in the Poznan backline last season, impressing Saints scouts.

Even though the south coast outfit are yet to appoint their new manager to replace Claude Puel at the time of writing, executive director Les Reed and director of recruitment and scouting Ross Wilson are pushing ahead with the club’s summer transfer business.

One area they are looking to strengthen is at the heart of the defence, with the club yet to replace Jose Fonte following his departure to West Ham during the January transfer window, with short-term replacement Martin Caceres being released at the end of the campaign.

While they are seemingly keen on the Lech Poznan star, Saints may be having second thoughts on a potential deal in recent days.

Here are three reasons Southampton should steer clear of signing Bednarek…

His Poland performances

It is difficult to judge a player on matches at a tournament – just ask any England fan – but Bednarek has certainly struggled to impress on the big stage in his home country.

While he is not playing with the same calibre of player that he would be if he moved to Southampton, he certainly showed the negative sides to his game against the young Three Lions on Thursday.

The 21-year-old was booked for dissent and then just minutes later clumsily brought down Tammy Abraham in the penalty area, giving away a penalty and receiving his second yellow card.

While Saints supporters will trust their scouts following their success in the past, it would have been a slightly concerning showing ahead of a potential move to the Premier League.

The future of Virgil van Dijk

The future of the Saints captain is still up in the air with Liverpool releasing a statement saying they had ended their interest in the 25-year-old after being accused of tapping the centre-back up by Southampton.

However, whether the Netherlands international stays or leaves this summer, the addition of Jan Bednarek would make little sense.

If Van Dijk goes, Saints will need an experienced and proven defender to step in alongside the likes of Jack Stephens and Maya Yoshida in the backline, while if he stays Bednarek would surely be the fourth or fifth choice centre-back option, which would make little sense.

Blocking the pathway

Considering Southampton love to promote their youth system and want to see academy players feature in the first team, it would be a strange move to sign Bednarek this summer.

Having viewed the improvement of Jack Stephens in the second half of the season when he was playing regular football, Saints will surely want to give some of their other young centre-backs – such as Alfie Jones – opportunities throughout the next campaign, rather than bringing in a relatively inexperienced young defender from abroad.

Do you agree, Saints fans? Let us know below.