According to reports in The Mirror, Everton are leading arch-rivals Liverpool in the race to sign £5m-rated Charlton Athletic defender Ezri Konsa after the League One outfit agreed to sell him this month.

The 20-year-old, who was part of the England U20 side that won the World Cup last summer, has been a regular for the Addicks over the course of the last 18 months and has been in impressive form for them this season.

The Mirror says his manager Karl Robinson rates him as the best defender in his age group in the country, and the Toffees are in pole position to bring him to Goodison Park having signed Ademola Lookman from Charlton this time last year, and with their chief scout watching the player in action against Blackburn Rovers last month.

Meanwhile, Southampton remained in the Premier League relegation zone despite drawing 1-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, and they are yet to sign anyone despite selling Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool for £75m at the start of January.

Mauricio Pellegrino will be focusing on strengthening his attacking options in the remaining days of the transfer window, but bringing Konsa to St Mary's could prove to be a shrewd move.

Three reasons Southampton must hijack Everton's bid to sign the 20-year-old…

Versatility

While Konsa's preferred position is at centre-back, the 20-year-old can also play at right-back as well and that versatility should appeal to Southampton.

A few weeks ago they were forced to play Jack Stephens and James Ward-Prowse in that position with Cedric Soares and Jeremy Pied both missing through injury, and they could certainly do with some extra cover in that full-back role.

Konsa also has the ability to compete for a place in the Saints starting XI at the heart of the defence, where he would be competing against the likes of Stephens, Maya Yoshida and Jan Bendarek to partner Wesley Hoedt.

Potential

Southampton have often brought top talent through their renowned academy ever since the mid-2000s, but there is no doubt that the production line has dried up a little in recent years, meaning they could be forced to look elsewhere to sign exciting young players.

Konsa is certainly one of those and with 70 Charlton appearances to his name already, as well as the part he played to help England win the U20 World Cup last summer, he has plenty of potential and room to improve in the right environment.

Saints will certainly look at the progress of another former Charlton player in Joe Gomez at Liverpool and believe that the 20-year-old could prove to be a bargain for £5m.

Price tag

The Telegraph reported on Saturday that Southampton could spend £50m to bring Spartak Moscow forward Quincy Promes and Monaco striker Guido Carrillo to St Mary's before the January transfer window shuts.

If that double swoop comes to fruition, they may not have too much money left to spend and bringing someone like Konsa – one of the best young talents in the country – to the south coast for £5m to add cover and depth at the back could be too good an opportunity to miss out on.

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