A claim has emerged regarding Southampton's reported interest in securing a deal for Olympique Lyon striker Moussa Dembele.

What's the talk?

Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist and transfer insider Pete O'Rourke had this to say on whether or not the Frenchman would be a serious summer target for the Saints.

He said: "I probably wouldn't have said that a couple of years ago because Dembele was being linked with some top clubs, not just in Premier League but across Europe.

"Dembele, maybe, has gone off the radar a bit for some of those big clubs but for Southampton, he would be a great signing."

Earlier this month, it was reported that the south coast club are eyeing up a potential £10m move for the Frenchman.

After scoring 51 goals in 94 appearances for Celtic, the 26-year-old joined Lyon during the 2018 summer transfer window.

Since then, the centre-forward has found the net 67 times in 143 appearances for the French club.

Broja upgrade

With Armando Broja now back at Chelsea after the competition of his loan spell, it could pave the way for a new striker, such as Dembele, to come in and take his place in Ralph Hasenhuttl's squad.

In fact, the former Hoops star could well be an upgrade on the departed Albanian.

To compare the duo from their previous domestic seasons, in which they both played at least 30 games, Dembele scored 15 more goals than Broja, as well as having 36 more shots at goal than the former Saints loan star.

This shows just how much of a menace the Lyon figure can be on a regular basis and why he could give a massive boost to Southampton's attacking force.

indeed, out of the 30 Ligue 1 appearances he made last season, there were only 12 games where he failed to deliver a goal contribution for his side.

If the opportunity to strike a deal with Lyon arises before the summer transfer window comes to a close, the Saints should do all they can to convince the French club to sell and give the player the chance to prove himself in the Premier League once again after his previous stint in the top division with Fulham.

AND in other news: “Been told”: Fabrizio Romano drops big Saints transfer claim that supporters will love