According to reports in The Mirror, Southampton have agreed a £10m fee with Barcelona to sign centre-back Marlon Santos.
The Mirror reports that Saints see the 22-year-old as a potential long-term replacement for Virgil van Dijk following his departure to Liverpool during the January transfer window, and it is clear to see that the south coast outfit need reinforcements in that position given they came so close to relegation last term.
The need for a leader and someone who is dominant in the air should be the priority given how much Van Dijk and Jose Fonte previously have clearly been missed, with Jack Stephens and Wesley Hoedt largely struggling in both terms in 2018.
Seeing as the club's latest £10m target stands at only 6ft tall, is largely inexperienced at 22 years of age and won 39 of the 65 aerial duels he faced in 23 Ligue 1 appearances on loan at Nice last term according to WhoScored, he perhaps isn't the answer to their problems.
Here are three centre-backs that would be better suited to Southampton than Marlon…
The Daily Echo report that Southampton are interested in signing Vestergaard from Borussia Monchengladbach but that it is unsure whether he would potentially be on top of Marlon or alongside him, with the latter seeming more likely given they already have Maya Yoshida, Jan Bednarek, Stephens and Hoedt in their squad.
The 6ft 6in tall Dane showed his qualities on the ball and in the air in 32 Bundesliga appearances last term, winning 103 of the 161 aerial duels he faced as per WhoScored, and he would certainly look to be a better partner for someone like Stephens than Marlon would be if Saints are to push on again next season.
Like Vestergaard, Toulouse centre-back Jullien would certainly bring some big height to the Southampton backline given he is 6ft 5in tall, while he has also captained the Ligue 1 outfit at times to show his leadership qualities.
In addition, he also has three years of experience on Marlon and with plenty of French top flight football under his belt, the 25-year-old looks to be ready to make the move to the Premier League.
While Toulouse narrowly avoided the drop last term, Jullien showed his dominance in the air by winning 124 of the 166 aerial duels he faced in 30 Ligue 1 games, according to WhoScored.
The 25-year-old may be a Championship defender right now, but he showed during Middlesbrough's one season in the Premier League last time out that he is more than capable of performing at a good level in the top flight.
The centre-back is decent on the ball, good in the air and is also a leader, seeing as he is Boro captain.
Gibson would certainly bring a vocal presence in the backline that has been missing since Van Dijk went, and that could be vitally important to helping Southampton improve next term.
Do you agree, Saints fans? Let us know below.