According to reports in The Mirror, Southampton are eyeing a January move for unsettled AS Monaco striker Stevan Jovetic.

The Mirror says Saints boss Mauricio Pellegrino – who is coming under serious scrutiny from the St Mary's faithful – is desperate to strengthen his side's attacking options after they scored just nine goals in their opening 11 Premier League matches this season, and he is reportedly keen on the former Manchester City man.

The 28-year-old only joined the Ligue 1 giants on a four-year deal from Inter Milan towards the end of the summer transfer window, but he has found game time hard to come by and is already said to be unhappy with life at the French club.

However, while Southampton are clearly struggling with their offensive play and need a new addition or two, the south coast outfit may be better off taking a closer look at another Monaco player in Guido Carrillo.

Here are three reasons Saints should forget about Jovetic and sign his 26-year-old teammate instead…

They need a proper centre-forward

Southampton's most effective play using the 4-2-3-1 system – which appears to be Pellegrino's preferred formation – was when they had two big target men in Rickie Lambert and then Graziano Pelle as the lone striker – and they don't have a similar player in the squad right now.

Manolo Gabbiadini, Charlie Austin and Shane Long don't have the attributes to play that role, and Saints' attacking play has taken has suffered as a result since the start of the 2016/17 campaign.

Rather than target someone like Jovetic who is similar to the aforementioned trio in terms of style of play, they should go for the 6ft 3in Carrillo instead.

Aerial ability

Southampton have often used the tactic of getting the ball out wide for the full-backs to cross in this season, but the likes of Gabbiadini and Austin aren't the strongest in the air and while Long is more effective his record in front of goal is poor.

They have the same situation from Fraser Forster's goal kicks and from free-kicks and corners and it is clear that they need someone with a decent aerial ability to play in that centre-forward role.

Step forward Carrillo. According to Squawka, the 26-year-old has won 14 of the 28 headers he has contested for Monaco so far this season, along with 31 out of 70 last term and a more impressive 99 out of 180 in the 2015/16 campaign.

It is clear that he is strong in the air and he would give opposition Premier League defenders something to think about to help a goal-shy Saints side mix things up a little bit.

Goalscoring record

Similarly to Jovetic, Carrillo doesn't exactly have the most prolific record of finding the net during his career but if he was working alongside a poacher like Manolo Gabbiadini at St Mary's, it may not be a huge problem.

15 goals in 84 appearances for Monaco for the 26-year-old doesn't look great on paper – Gabbiadini netted 25 in 79 for Napoli prior to his move to Saints - but when you consider that the majority of those outings came from the substitutes' bench it doesn’t seem as bad.

If the Argentine striker can hold the ball up, win headers and bring his teammates into play, the goals he will bring on the side will be an added bonus.

When Pelle played a similar role for Southampton the highest total of Premier League goals he scored in a single season was 12, and that would be an achievable target for Carrillo too with regular games and the right players around him.

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