According to reports in the Evening Standard, Bournemouth want to sign Chelsea attacker Charly Musonda on loan until the end of the season.
The Evening Standard says that the Blues are willing to let the 21-year-old leave on a temporary basis following the £15m arrival of Ross Barkley from Everton last week, and Cherries boss Eddie Howe watched the startlet score a brace in the as the west London outfit's U23 side beat Portsmouth 2-1 win in the Checkatrade Trophy at Fratton Park on Tuesday night.
The report adds that the young Belgium U21 international is likely to attract interest from other clubs in the Premier League and in the Championship too, but the English top flight holders will want guarantees that he will play regularly in the second-half campaign at whichever team he joins.
Meanwhile, Southampton manager Mauricio Pelllegrino will be keen to strengthen his own squad during the January transfer window following a disappointing campaign, which sees them only lie above the relegation zone on goal difference.
The Argentine chief is likely to focus his business on attacking areas with his team scoring just 21 goals in their 22 Premier League matches so far this term, and bringing Musonda to St Mary's could prove to be a shrewd move.
Here are three reasons Southampton must hijack Bournemouth's bid to sign the Belgian…
They need a new attacker
There is no doubt that Southampton need to sign one – if not two – attackers to freshen up their options before the January transfer window slams shut at the end of the month.
Players like Nathan Redmond and Dusan Tadic simply aren't doing enough right now, with the former scoring one goal and providing a further three assists in his last 30 Premier League appearances, while the latter has three goals and three assists in his previous 31 top flight games.
Musonda would certainly add a bit of spark as he can play in any of the three positions behind the striker in the 4-2-3-1 formation that Mauricio Pellegrino prefers.
His ability
The 21-year-old has scored four goals and provided one assist in four appearances in the EFL Trophy and EFL Cup this season, while he is clearly on the periphery of Antonio Conte's thinking having made substitute appearances in the Premier League and the FA Cup.
Musonda is fast, has quick feet and loves to dribble at defenders, with WhoScored.com listing the latter as his main strength, while he has also shown that his finishing isn't too shabby either.
Southampton lack that pace and the players in their squad to take opponents on and beat them, and in that regard the Belgian would be a welcome addition to their frontline.
Loan deal
While some Southampton supporters may have thought that their club was going to reinvest the £75m fee they received for Virgil van Dijk earlier this month, according to The Times that won't be the case.
The Times says that while the south coast outfit are guaranteed to receive £70m for the Dutchman, it will be paid in three instalments and they have only received £17m so far.
Because of that, Saints may favour a loan deal for a versatile attacker like Musonda if it allows them to spend more money on a new centre-forward to cover the absence of the injured Charlie Austin, as well as a centre-back to replace van Dijk.
Do you agree, Saints fans? Let us know below.