According to reports in The Telegraph on January 17, Southampton are attempting to quickly conclude a deal to bring Monaco striker Guido Carrillo to the club having missed out on Theo Walcott, who chose to join Everton instead.The Telegraph says that the south coast outfit are now focused on signing the 26-year-old, who worked with manager Mauricio Pellegrino during the pair's time with Argentine club Independiente, although The Guardian sport's deputy news editor Ed Aarons says they have had a €20m (£17.6m) offer rejected.

The centre-forward has largely been a back-up for Radamel Falcao for Monaco this season, and he could be tempted by a move away this month in order to play more regularly – especially given the chance to link up with his former boss.

Meanwhile, West Ham United have been linked with a £15m move for Krasnodar striker and Russia captain Fyodor Smolov during the January window, although there is yet to be any offers for the 27-year-old according to the player's agent, via The Sun, with the Irons yet to find buyers for Diafra Sakho or Javier Hernandez this month.

While Saints have seemingly got their own target lined up, bringing Smolov to St Mary's could prove to be a shrewder move.

Here are three reasons Southampton must forget Carrillo and sign the Russian Premier League star instead…

Goals

While Carrillo may have the physical traits to be the target man that Southampton are reportedly searching for, he has only scored 57 goals in 227 matches for Independiente and Monaco.

While not too many of those – especially at the Ligue 1 outfit – have been starts, it certainly isn't a brilliant record when you compare it to Smolov's.

The 27-year-old, who is only one-and-a-half inches smaller than the Argentine striker, wasn't particularly prolific before his switch to Krasnodar, but he has since netted 59 goals in just 90 matches for them, while he has also has 11 in 28 caps for Russia.

Southampton need a striker that can score goals regularly in the second-half of the campaign to boost their survival bid, and Smolov looks to be the better option in that respect.

His qualities

Smolov is certainly an all-round decent centre-forward, as he is good in the air but also decent with his feet and relatively quick, too.

According to WhoScored.com, he has successfully completed 16 of the 26 dribbles he has attempted in 13 Russian Premier League matches this season, while he showed his ability to impress at the highest level with two goals in his country's 3-3 friendly draw with Spain in November.

The fact that he is the captain of his country shows that he is a good character, while The Sun reports that he also speaks fluent English and would hopefully settle into life at St Mary’s quickly.

Price tag

Southampton's general policy when it comes to buying players is to look at individuals that have the potential to increase their value for re-sale.

Considering Carrillo looks as though he will be more expensive than the £15m Smolov, the south coast outfit would need to make a decision on who would be the best investment both now and in the future.

Given that Smolov is going to be captaining his country at their home World Cup, there will be plenty of attention on him and if he can score a few goals to help them progress, other clubs will certainly take a look.

That is less guaranteed with Carrillo, who is struggling to get starts for Monaco right now, and Southampton should opt to sign the Russian attacker instead.

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