With just five goals scored in their opening seven Premier League games of the season and the fact that Danny Ings made the move to Aston Villa over the summer, Southampton seem to be in need of some attacking reinforcements to help them get away from the relegation zone.
The January transfer window is just about on the horizon and it seems as though the Saints have their eye on potentially signing someone who could possibly fix their attacking issue.
According to TEAMtalk, they are interested in making a move for Fulham attacking-midfielder Fabio Carvalho in January after tracking the player for "a number of months."
The report also claims that "a host of Premier League clubs have been looking closely" at Carvalho, so the Saints could potentially have some competition for his signature.
Livramento 2.0?
Southampton's potential move for Carvalho could in some ways mirror the club's recent transfer deal for Valentino Livramento given that they signed him from another west London club with Chelsea during the recent summer transfer window.
However, what makes the similarity so telling is that they both have Portuguese roots and Carvalho remains relatively untested in the top-flight, a category Livramento was very much in until his move to St. Mary's. The Fulham youngster has made a splash in the Championship this term but has made just four appearances in the Premier League.
Since arriving at Southampton, Livramento has played in all seven of their Premier League games, earning himself an overall season rating of 6.71/10 for his performances, making him their sixth-highest rated player according to WhoScored, which says to us how well he has settled in at the club and adapted to playing in the Premier League regularly.
Carvalho, meanwhile, has been described as a "fantastic" player by Fulham boss Marco Silva and like the former Chelsea product, is a dazzling young individual. The 19-year-old has just 11 senior appearances for the Cottagers but has managed to score four goals and provide one assist, proving himself a useful attacking outlet.
Moving forward, we think Southampton should definitely try and snap up their mooted target. He is currently valued at £225k according to Transfermarkt, and at a bargain price, would be in good stead to potentially replicate Livramento's good start to life on the south coast.