According to reports in The Mirror, Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres is eyeing a Premier League swansong, and Southampton are one of the clubs that have been alerted to his potential availability.

The 33-year-old has found first-team football hard to come by for the La Liga giants this season, and The Mirror says that he is keen to come to the English top flight on loan for the second-half of the campaign before returning to Spain to spend the final year of his contract with his hometown club.

Saints and Premier League rivals Newcastle United have both been informed by the former Liverpool and Chelsea centre-forward's representatives that he could be available, and it is a proposal that could interest Mauricio Pellegrino considering his team have scored just nine league goals in 11 games this term.

While the Spaniard would perhaps be a good addition on paper, the south coast outfit may be better off trying to get his attacking teammate Luciano Vietto instead.

Here are three reasons Southampton must forget Torres and target the Argentine…

Goals

Saints are in desperate need of a player that can find the back of the net and it is something that the 33-year-old may not be capable of if his record in front of goal in the past few seasons is anything to go by.

The striker has scored 29 goals in all competitions since the start of the 2014/15 campaign following a disappointing spell with Chelsea, and the south coast outfit would be much better off pushing for Vietto instead.

The Argentine netted an impressive 20 goals in 48 outings in the 2014/15 campaign for Villarreal, and while he has struggled with Atletico he did net 10 times during a loan spell with Sevilla last term to outline his goalscoring credentials.

Versatility

While Vietto primarily plays as a centre-forward, the fact that he is also able to play on the flank may well appeal to Mauricio Pellegrino.

The Argentine boss seems to be short of a natural wide forward with both Sofiane Boufal and Dusan Tadic looking to be more effective through the middle, and playing the Atletico man there could help to boost his team's goal-shy attack.

Partnering the 23-year-old with Manolo Gabbiadini or Charlie Austin could also prove to be a shrewd move, and he would be much better addition than Torres in that respect.

Potential

While Torres would be an impressive addition because of his name, the fact that he is 33 years of age and seemingly only wants to join on a loan deal until the end of the season should mean that Southampton choose to look elsewhere.

Saints need a long-term fix to their goalscoring problems and they would be much better off moving for the 23-year-old Vietto, who is likely to fall down the pecking order at Atletico when Diego Costa is eligible to play in 2018.

The Argentine attacker certainly has the potential and time to improve – something that certainly isn't the case for Torres, who looks to be approaching the final stages of his playing career.

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