Southampton are once again being linked with a move for Bologna midfielder Mattias Svanberg ahead of the summer and after failing to sign him in during the January transfer window, CEO Martin Semmens can amend his mistake and acquire him for Ralph Hasenhuttl ahead of next season.

According to Italian news outlet Calcio Mercato, Southampton are keen on signing the Swedish international but will need to see off competition from the likes of Leicester City, AC Milan and Inter if they are to bring him to St Mary's this summer.

The Saints were heavily linked with the 22-year-old during the winter transfer window but failed to bring him, or anyone else, in on a permanent deal, which has left Hasenhuttl with a serious lack of squad depth in the second half of the campaign.

Following long-term injuries to both Oriol Romeu and Will Smallbone, the Austrian manager has almost exclusively had to play a midfield duo of James Ward-Prowse and Ibrahima Diallo, a partnership which has been exposed on several occasions in recent fixtures.

Although he has sometimes opted to play Stuart Armstrong through the middle, the Scottish star is far more effective out wide, so having someone as versatile as Svanberg in the squad could have been a huge boost for Southampton.

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The youngster has already featured in a plethora of positions in his career, with the majority of his appearances coming as a central midfielder, yet he has also proved himself adept playing on the left, the right, up front and even at right-back.

This season has comfortably been Svanberg's best with Bologna, as in 30 Serie A appearances he has five goals and two assists to his name, whereas in the last two seasons combined he managed just one goal and three assists.

The young midfielder is not short of suitors and it seems as if his Swedish compatriot Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a big fan, as he reportedly told his club, AC Milan, to seriously consider signing him back in January.

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Certainly, with Southampton desperately needing to add some squad depth ahead of the 2021/22 season, Svanberg could prove to be an excellent addition and as such, he is someone Semmens should definitely look to bring in this summer.

And, in other news... Hasenhuttl suffers fresh blow to £18m Southampton beast, he'll be gutted