According to reports in the Daily Mail, Southampton are one of a number Premier League clubs interested in signing £16m-rated Lille defender Ibrahim Amadou during the January transfer window.

The Daily Mail says that Saints have shown an interest in the 24-year-old recently, with Crystal Palace keen on a deal and Stoke City, Newcastle United and Watford all also credited with an interest in the versatile Frenchman, who can play as a centre-back or defensive midfielder.

The south coast outfit certainly have money to strengthen their squad this month following the £75m sale of Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool, and it looks to be something that they need to do as they currently only lie outside the English top flight relegation zone on goal difference following a poor campaign.

Manager Mauricio Pellegrino may well be looking for a replacement for van Dijk, and while the Daily Mail says there is interest in Amadou, they may be better off looking at his Lille teammate Adama Soumaoro instead.

The 25-year-old has been an impressive performer in the Ligue 1 outfit's backline in recent seasons, and he could prove to be a shrewd addition to a leaky Saints backline.

Here are three reasons Southampton forget about Amadou and sign teammate Soumaoro instead…

They need a new central defender

The departure of van Dijk to Liverpool means that Saints need a new centre-back, especially with Maya Yoshida and Jack Stephens showing in recent weeks that they aren't necessarily good enough to start every game.

While Amadou is capable of playing as a centre-back or defensive midfielder, Southampton would probably be better off signing an out-and-out centre-half given they already have the likes of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oriol Romeu and Mario Lemina in front of the defence.

Soumaoro certainly fits the bill in that regard, and the Frenchman would have plenty to offer to the south coast outfit's backline.

His qualities

In the absence of the departed van Dijk and Wesley Hoedt because of concussion in the home defeat against Crystal Palace on Tuesday night, Yoshida and Stephens weren't very dominant in the air and that is a trait that Pellegrino may be looking for in a potential new centre-back.

Soumaoro certainly fits the bill and even though he has only played six Ligue 1 games this season because of an Achilles injury that kept him on the sidelines earlier in the campaign, according to Squawka he has won seven of the nine aerial duels he has faced, adding to the 61 he won in 27 French top flight matches last term.

His ability in the air isn't his only strength though, and he has made 19 clearances, eight interceptions and eight blocks this season, while he is comfortable in possession and has a passing accuracy of 93%.

In that respect he could be the perfect van Dijk replacement, and Southampton should undoubtedly look to bring him to St Mary's this month.

Price tag

According to reports in the Daily Mail on December 14, the Lille centre-back is rated at around £20m, and given the fact that the is 25 years of age and looks to be ideally suited to the Premier League, it could prove to be a bargain fee.

Bringing the Frenchman to St Mary's for that amount would represent a club-record deal for Southampton, but in the current volatile transfer market it isn't much at all for a defender that has plenty of qualities and potential and could make a huge difference for the south coast outfit in the second-half of the campaign.

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